Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine
by McKennaCarson15
Summary: Macca Soxx, an eighteen-year-old DJ and breakdancer, has a relatively normal life as celebrities go. It isn't until she befriends Ninjago's greatest heroes that her life begins changing. Prophecies...love...and Macca's destiny...could there be a tragic end?
1. Prologue

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Prologue**

_The concert was ending, and I_ was dreading to go outside. I knew that the paparazzi and news reporters were waiting for me to come through the club's doors. I usually didn't mind the flashing of camera lights and bulky microphones constantly being shoved in my face, but I haven't been having the best week ever.

Jacob Rosales, my boyfriend at the time, accused me of cheating on him like he had been doing since we first started dating. We got into another argument, but this time it was out in public. People watched us scream at each other, so it put negative publicity on me. I finally broke off the relationship with him after it was all over. I have never cheated on any boyfriend; it was typically him who cheated on me. I may be quite famous, but I vowed to not become the kind of celebrity that does stupid stuff just to get attention from the media.

A few of the people who watched us argue spread a rumor not long after I broke up with Jacob. They said I punched him because I was so furious. Like all rumors, this was indeed untrue, but because this bogus accusation was so "juicy," news reporters are being paid to ask me questions about it. Over the past week, I've been denying questions from all news reporters. I never really saw the point in trying to prove myself innocent if I'll always be "lying" according to the media.

Lights flickered throughout the enormous dark room. Dubstep music boomed through the speakers all over the stage. A large screen went wild with many altering shapes and colors behind me. My fans danced on the color-changing dance floor like crazed maniacs. I moved along to the beat of the music as I worked the many flips and switches and fiddled with the turn tables in front of me.

I glanced up to pump up my fans more when a small red glow stick shot out from within the mass of bodies and hit me in the face all of a sudden. I heard girls scream as I quickly turned away to hold my nose in pain. The music sounded awkward for a moment and then stopped playing. Fans got angry and yelled. Once the pain soothed somewhat, I grabbed a microphone and turned it on. "I love all you guys, but whoever threw that is a fucking piece of shit," I said into it.

"FINISH THE SONG!" somebody complained.

"Who threw it?" I continued. "Raise your hand. Who threw the glow stick?"

"Let's bring the bitch!" a woman said aloud.

A guy wearing a lime green T-shirt caught my attention. "You threw it? You're a piece of shit," I said to him while pointing my finger at him.

Fans cheered at my remark. A few either held up their middle finger or gave a thumbs down at my attacker as they yelled at him.

"I bet you're proud of that–" I started.

"KICK HIS ASS!" a man shouted.

My attacker started saying something to me, but all I could see was his mouth moving without any sound coming out.

"N-no, I can't hear what you're saying," I told him, "but guess what?"

"HE HAS A SMALL DICK!" somebody else shouted. Laughter responded to his comment.

"H-hey, everyone, listen! I'm behind my station of equipment where all you can see is my upper body, and you hit me square in the face so you have a good fucking aim. That's all you got, right?"

"YEAH!" my attacker replied to me.

"That's awesome," I said. "You're a son of a bitch."

"PARTY FAG!" somebody yelled. Other people screamed after him.

"And you don't– listen! You're not allowed to throw glow sticks or whatever the fuck on stage–"

"KICK HIS ASS OUT OF HERE!" a fan stated as loud hollering began to brew up.

"Hey, listen! I love you guys so very, very much. Can I tell you something real quick? The past week has really been nothing but hell for me, and I haven't slept in like twenty-five hours because I've been trying to get a new song out for you guys, but I still came here tonight to play this show for you all–"

The fans interrupted me by cheering.

"So yeah, I'm tired as hell, but this is my last song before I leave in a few minutes. I remixed with another song _just_ for you all, so get the last of that party juice out of your system as you dance to it. And _fuck_ you, you fucking asshole for throwing some shit at me!"

I put down the microphone as the fans cheered for the song to play. I used my laptop to make the song play. Once it started playing, they screamed in joy at the top of their lungs. I picked up the microphone again and said, "And _please_, don't beat him up on my behalf; I don't like violence, but just say, '_Fuck_ you, you fucking asshole!'"

The fans cheered.

"No violence, no violence," I continued. I put the microphone down and played the song through the speakers. I loved watching everyone dance with each other to the music I created for them. When the song ended, they cheered and clapped. "I love you all! Have a good night!" I said. I turned off all of my equipment and went backstage. I made my way down a short hallway and into my dressing room. My sleepy fatigue caught up when I sat down in front of my makeup mirror. I yawned and looked into it. My reflection greeted me. I saw it was the same as it was every time I looked at myself in a mirror: my long, brown, and naturally curly hair dangled down my back, my signature fitted hat rested on my head, special sock gloves were stretched across my arms, my pretty face with light hazel eyes looking back at me, eye liner and mascara on my eyelids, my headphones and dog tags around my neck, my natural tan skin radiating, and a tank top on my torso that had, "DJ Macca Soxx," written on it in bold letters. I also wore baggy jeans, men's boxers, and sneakers. My fans adored the fact I dressed like a gangster every day, many claimed I am one, but they all know I do not do drugs, drink alcohol, nor smoke cigarettes. I just like to think of myself as an ordinary eighteen-year-old woman who wants to be like the guys.

I removed my fitted hat and fluffed out my hair. Thinking of the horde of paparazzi and news reporters made me sigh. I had no desire to face them, especially after last night. My tank top was grabbed. I was so furious.

_This is all your fault Jacob, _I thought. _Because of _you_, I'm stuck in this stupid situation. _I didn't understand why so many of my recent romantic relationships have ended so badly. Jacob was so sweet and loving at first, but then he turned against me. Was it something I did? No, it was just him. He didn't appreciate me as his girlfriend just like others before him. All I've ever wanted was to meet that one guy who would forever love me and treat me right, but who was I kidding? _I'm a celebrity, _I reminded myself._ My life will never be normal, and not finding my soulmate is clearly a part of that._

I put my fitted hat back on my head. The time to leave had come. I collected my possessions and put them in my mesh bag. When making my way to the club's glass doors, all I could think about was having the ability to teleport home. My life would be much easier if I could.

I walked down a hallway and halted at a corner. I waited for the last of the fans to leave before I showed myself. As the doors closed behind the last group of them, I heard the sound of people talking quietly amongst themselves. I knew the paparazzi and news reporters were outside, and the multitude of them was larger than last night.

I banged my head against the wall I was leaning on and groaned in frustration. The paparazzi might all be barricaded by flimsy red theatre rope, but it definitely wasn't going to stop some from jumping it and getting their money shot of me.

I pulled down the peak of my fitted hat down over my face as I dragged my feet towards the doors. My free hand hesitantly pushed open one of them. Like a grenade exploding, piercing white light flashed in my face. I was immediately blinded. Members of the paparazzi called my name to get my attention, but I ignored them. I tautened my grip on the strings of my mesh bag in case somebody were to grab it. I made my way to the limousine very disoriented from the cameras taking pictures. A member of the paparazzi suddenly squatted down in front of me and took a brisk photo. I nearly had to push him out of my way as I was becoming irritable.

The wave of news reporters ambushed me. All kinds of bulky microphones were shoved in my face after a question was asked.

"Macca Soxx, what were you and Jacob Rosales fighting about?"

"Macca Soxx, witnesses say you punched Jacob Rosales. Is this true?"

I pushed through what seemed like an endless ocean of news crews as I ignored every question. I hopped into the limousine as fast as I could and shut the door. An annoyed sigh escaped my mouth once I sat down.

_If this is what's going to happen to me _every_ time a relationship ends, then I don't want to deal with it anymore! I give up on love! I'll never date again!_

"The usual destination, Miss Soxx?" Emerson, my handsome limousine driver, asked me.

"Yeah Emerson, thanks," I replied calmly. I yawned when the long vehicle drove forward. I laid down across the black seat. Because of my extreme exhaustion, I almost instantly dozed off.

The back of my eyelids brought me to a dense mist that blanketed the ground. I found myself wearing a weightless white gown. As I looked around, I realized I couldn't see any of my surroundings. A girl's voice suddenly started calling my real name. I tried to follow her voice, but it seemed to drift further away from me. "McKenna! Don't go inside! It's a _trap_!" she said, sounding worried.

"Hello?!" I responded. "Where are you?!"

"Don't go inside!"

"Where? Why?"

"You have to listen to me! They're waiting for you! Don't go inside!"

"We have arrived, Miss Soxx," Emerson said, waking me. I drowsily sat up and rubbed my eye in confusion. It felt like only seconds had gone by. I grabbed my mesh bag and exited the limousine. It drove off. Movement was caught in the corner of my eye. I turned and glanced at the alleyway that divided the apartment complex I lived in with the brick building next to it. My vision didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but I could've sworn I saw someone. It was a man, and he wore a black mask over his face. Feeling frightened and unsafe, I went inside the apartment complex.

Erica, the front desk lady, greeted me as I entered. She wore her daily work attire of a light gray suit and her wavy blonde hair swayed past her face every time she moved. "Hi Macca, how was the concert?" she asked me in her standard friendly manner.

"Oh, it was fine. I mean, I got hit in the face with a glow stick, but it's no biggie."

"You _what_?"

"Yeah, it's a long story, but…y-you haven't seen _anybody_ outside, have you?"

Erica gave me a questionable look. "Well, a few people walked by, but other than that, no. Why?"

"It's just that…" My voice trailed off as I thought of the man. There was no way he could've just disappeared like that. I must've just been seeing things. "You know what, never mind. I-I'm just tired. Goodnight, Erica."

"Oh, um, goodnight, Macca."

I walked to the elevator and pushed the button that made it come down. I stepped into it when the doors split in two. Its doors closed after I pressed another button that went up to Level 10. The man was stuck in my mind the whole ride up. A scared sickness fell into my stomach.

_But what if he was real?_

The elevator then dinged and opened its doors at the tenth floor. The hallway before me was vacant; not a single person roamed it. I proceeded down to Room 22, careful not to disturb my middle-aged neighbors. I took my keys out of my mesh bag and stuck it in the lock socket. A clicking noise made me stop. I listened as my eyeballs moved side to side.

_It's only my imagination. There's no way he could be real._

I turned the key and the lock released. I also unlocked the deadbolt lock above it. My sight came to blackness when I opened the door. I reached for the light switch, but something was suddenly pressed against my throat. "I'll slit your throat if you scream," a voice said.

I froze and looked where the voice came from. A man in a black mask stared at me with a sword in his hand. "Put the bag down _now_," he commanded.

I quickly dropped my mesh bag with wide eyes. My heart thumped hastily in raw terror.

"Step away from the door," he continued.

I followed the order I was given and walked away from the door, my hands slightly raised. He pointed the sword at me and closed the door.

"Okay, look, I-I don't want any t-trouble," I stuttered. I have never been so scared all my life. "T-take whatever you want, I don't care. Just don't h-hurt me, p-please! I won't c-call the cops or any–"

Something solid suddenly clashed against the back of my skull. The impact sent my body crashing to the floor. My fitted hat slipped off my head. I winced in pain and felt tears welling up in my eyes. I touched the area of my head that throbbed. Blood stained my skin. "See that's the thing, princess," a new voice said. "We don't want your things, we're here for something more meaningful to us. It's called _revenge_." Someone kicked me in the chest. I screamed in response. A man in a red mask showed in the moonlight coming in through a window. He reached down and slapped a hand over my mouth. He was about to say something when a knock came to the door.

"Macca? Sweety, is everything okay in there?" a woman asked.

The man paused for a moment. Then he made me stand up and go to the door. He wrenched my head to the side so I would hear him clearly. "Don't give anything away," he said, pressing a blade to my back. He let go of my head. I shakily opened the door to find my neighbor Deborah.

"What's going on in there?" she asked me.

The man pressed the blade deeper into my back as a warning. I forced a smile. "Nothing, I just spooked myself," I lied. "Everything's fine."

"It sounded like you were moving furniture in there!"

"I'm sorry, Deborah. I'll keep it quiet."

She turned to go back to her apartment next door. I closed the door. "Good girl," the man said. He gripped my arm tightly and yanked me back. My body was pressed against his as the palm of his hand held my neck. I felt the blade's tip touching my chin. "Seems like we were too loud," he said teasingly. "Now where were we?" He squeezed my neck until I couldn't breathe. I laid on the floor after my body went limp. Both men kicked my chest repeatedly and made my ribs break.

"I hate you," one of them said."You're nothing _but_ a whore, and that's all you'll ever be." The men continuously beat me for a long time. They broke my headphones and then gagged me with my dog tags. After I was bruised and broken, my eyes and mouth were duct taped shut and my wrists were taped together. I could hear them laughing at my misery.

They tore my clothes to shreds with the swords. "Please don't rape me," I whimpered, my voice suppressed from the duct tape. "Please don't rape me."

"_Shut up_, none of us want to hear it," one of them said.

_None of you? There's more than two? Oh god…what did I do to deserve this?_

All the torture that happened next seemed to go on and on for hours. It was so traumatizing that I knew I could never speak of it to anyone. When it was all over, I just wanted to die.

I wailed and cried on the floor. A wet rag wiped me down to clean me up of evidence. The men shuffled around the room while gathering all their paraphernalia. I heard the door open. "Be a good girl," one of the men said teasingly, "or else we'll come back." He laughed darkly and the door closed.

I sniffled and sat up. Once I cautiously peeled the duct tape from my eyes, I ripped off the duct tape across my mouth. I nipped at the tape holding my wrists together. It took me a very long time to break my hands free, but when I did, I dragged my body across the carpet with the arm I could actually move. Then I pulled out my cell phone from my mesh bag and called the police. "911, what is your emergency?" the female operator answered.

"I was just attacked in my apartment," I cried with thick tears streaming down my cheeks.

"Okay, ma'am, do you know who did it?"

"I-I don't know. They taped my eyes shut so I couldn't see them."

"Alright, the police are on their way–"

"I live on Level 10, Room 22 of the apartment complex."

"Okay, I'll let them know. Just hang tight for a few minutes."

Without replying, I hung up and called one of my closest friends.

"Hello?" a voice groggily answered after the phone rang a couple times.

"Trent?" I wept.

"Macca? What's wrong? Are you okay?" He replied, sounding more awake and alert.

"Trent, I need you!"

"What happened?!"

I started to cry harder.

"Okay, okay, I'll be there as _fast_ as I can! I promise! I'll call Linus."

I hung up my cell phone and felt the horrible pain all throughout my body. I searched for some sort of comfort. I felt a bite-mark that one of the men left behind. "Why me?" I moaned. "Why did this happen to me?"

The door to my apartment soon flew open. The hallway's light shined on my body. "Police!" a male voice shouted.

I reached my hand towards him. "Help me…" I pleaded. Emergency workers started filling into my apartment. I was lifted onto a gurney and wheeled outside where many vehicles with flashing lights were scattered everywhere. I heard Erica begging authorities to tell her what had happened as they kept her from going inside. Two familiar people caught my attention. They were screaming my name as they frantically looked for me.

"Linus…Trent…" I tried to say. A woman suddenly came up to my side.

"McKenna, I'm Detective Davis," she said while holding up her badge. "Everything's going to be fine, okay?"

"Okay," I weakly said. I was put into the back of an ambulance with Detective Davis right by my side. She began asking me questions when the doors were shut and the ambulance drove to the hospital.


	2. Chapter 1: Attacked By Snake-People

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 1:**

**Attacked By Snake-People**

_Cheering and the beat of music_ littered the room with noise. The three judges on the platform did not look impressed by the performance that was being given to them. People with huge cameras walked around and captured footage for television. A man with a microphone kept the audience interacted by speaking through it.

Linus and Trent danced together very thorough to the music. We've trained hard for this battle, and aren't giving up just yet.

Our three competitors were a big challenge when we competed against them last year, but it seems as though they have improved since then. Luckily the judges seemed just as bored watching them as they were us; there was still a chance for us to win.

I stood and scrutinized my teammates' dance moves. It was well worked and coordinated just as we had practiced. They both got down on the floor and used their hands to hold themselves up. At the same time, they both moved their legs towards the opposing team. Then they spun around and started sliding zigzags back to our side of the platform.

Two of the opposing dancers gave them a thumbs down and shook their heads.

"Go get 'em, Mac," Linus said to me. I jumped into the center of the platform and immediately threw my legs out from under me. I swung my legs behind me and supported myself with the palm of my hands on the floor. I pushed myself off the floor and spun with my legs in the air. To catch myself, I lightly pressed my shoulder on the floor and then used my arms to make me stand up.

The audience cheered at my dancing. The judges' faces lit up. The man with the microphone stated an uplifting comment about my combo.

An opposing dancer came gliding across the platform after I stepped back to our side. He hopped up onto his feet with a spin and then quickly did a handstand. Using a hand to push off, he began to swivel around many times. His legs looked like a twisted optical illusion. Before losing speed and balance, he got to his feet.

The audience cheered greatly for his move, but I just rolled my eyes.

_Lame, _I thought.

The dancer gripped his fitted hat and moved his legs to the beat of the music. Then he crossed his legs and squatted down to get down on his knees. He laid his hands on the floor and lifted himself up with only one of them. His other hand came over his body and he unexpectedly used it to flip onto his shoulder blades. Next, he bounced off his shoulder blades and ended up back on his knees. Then, he sprang up and spun around three times on both his hands and knees.

The judges nodded at him with looks of amazement on their faces. Trent was about to go on and compete with the dancer alone when I held my arm out and stopped him. "I got it, I got it," I told him.

He moved back a pace in response.

The three opposing dancers held their hands out. "You got nothing on us," one of them said.

I did a front flip towards them and then jumped and spiraled sideways into the air. I walked up to the previous dancer and pointed at him. Then I turned back around to Linus and Trent, preparing my next move. When I was about perform, an opposing dancer took the platform from me. He did a backflip and winked at me as if I were a prissy girl. To show him up, I danced to the music and got the audience to chant my name.

The opposing dancers started talking trash about me amongst themselves, so I waved my finger at all of them and said, "Hit the road, bozos. Watch a _real_ breakdancer get to work." I did a backflip and lightly landed on the top of my head. After slightly bouncing onto my feet, I danced more to the music.

Linus and Trent went crazy to support me. It got the audience even more excited.

I got down and swung my legs around me while holding myself up with my hands. I rolled forward and forced my body off the floor. I rolled again, landed completely flat on my back, and slowly sat up like a zombie rising from its grave. I gazed at the dancers and flipped both my middle fingers at them.

The audience cheered loudly for me.

I rolled onto my side and lifted myself off the floor. As I faced the three, I moved my legs towards a particular one just to irritate him. He made a hand gesture that presented he wanted to fight me, but I just stood up and walked away from him.

Then the gong sounded. Our ten minutes was up. Everybody looked up at the screen to see the final scores for each category.

The man with the microphone announced. "Foundation goes to…Poison Posse!"

The crowd cheered as our team name showed up on the screen.

"Originality goes to…Poison Posse!"

The crowd cheered louder. Only two more categories to go.

_Can we shut them out?_

"Dynamics goes to…tied!"

Linus and Trent groaned beside me as more of the crowd cheered for the other team.

"Execution goes to…Jaguar Junction!"

All three of our jaws dropped. There was no way that could be right!

"Battle goes to…Poison Posse!"

The audience bellowed in awe for us. We shook hands with the other team before stepping off the platform and heading to the locker rooms to clean up. I went into the women's locker room all by myself.

I used a towel to wipe away the sweat from my face. My biceps felt tight and overworked from dancing. I used my upper body more than usual, and I expected to fatigue rather quickly, but I somehow pulled through. I knew that uncomfortable soreness was coming to haunt me tomorrow though.

I heard the muffled chanting of my name through the door get louder. It was almost as if the fans wanted an encore. I could not help but smile to myself at the thought of strangers adoring what I do for them. The feeling made me feel accepted for who I am.

Linus and Trent are my closest friends, and they've always been there for me through the good and bad times. They've pushed me to work hard with both my breakdancing and my music career. They are my coaches, and I believe they're the reason I qualified to compete in the men's league to dance. My fans, however, have been my inspiration to continue to reach my goal of winning the championship with Linus and Trent by my side. The memories of my childhood haven't done anything to stop me so far.

When I was growing up, I lived in a foster home, and I constantly struggled with the unknown reason of why I was put in it. I remember at a young age how my foster parents had tried to tell me that my biological parents weren't coming back for me. Of course I was too young to understand what all they meant back then, but now I have always wanted to know why they abandoned me. I wouldn't be surprised if they were drug addicts or alcoholics and still were to this day, but what if they just couldn't keep me for whatever reason? Maybe they wanted to keep me, but decided that I would have a much better life without them? I have so many questions, yet no answers.

A knock at the locker room door made me look up. "Yo, Mac-Attack, you ready?" Linus asked me through it.

"Yeah," I replied, zipping up my black winter coat. I grabbed my mesh bag and opened the door to find him and Trent on the other side, also wearing heavy coats. I looked into Linus's deep blue eyes and studied his attractive angular facial features. The young and fit twenty-two year old always seemed ready to flirt with any girl that crossed his path, and he was good at it, too.

"So, when do you have to be back?" Trent questioned me. Trent, on the other hand, wasn't considered a player. He's twenty-five years old and had silky black hair. He was gentle and loving like a fluffy kitty cat, which was one of the reasons why he got his pet cat, Geno, a couple years ago.

"The meeting I have with the label company isn't until six o'clock tonight. We can go visit your family for a while," I said.

"Sounds good to me." I pulled my coat's hood over my head when we got outside. Frosty air hit us like a brick wall. The breakdance battle we competed in took place in a stadium in a quaint little community called Jamanakai Village. It is located at the top of a mountain, and is Trent's hometown. Everyday brought snowfall, and I never understood how Trent could actually stand the freezing temperatures.

I followed my two friends through the crowded marketplace to get to an open courtyard. Small flurries of snow floated down over us. When we made it to the courtyard, the first thing that caught my eye was the misshaped beige tiles that laid all over the ground. Each home looked identical to one another because of all their peach-colored walls and round red lanterns that had little golden dragons painted on them. "Whoa, Trent, what's _that_?" Linus asked in wonderment.

I gazed where Linus was looking and saw a beautiful fountain. "That's the village's water supply," Trent answered. "The water flows out of the figurine dragon heads' mouths and spills into the narrow trenches in the surface of the ground. I remember coming out here when I was a kid to fetch water for my mom so she could cook dinner for the family," he continued.

"I'm guessing she's going to send you out _again_ so she can feed _us_," Linus replied jokily.

I couldn't help myself. I laughed.

"Oh, great, look what you did," Trent said to Linus, knocking on the door to his old home. "She's lost it again."

"Hey, you two should know by now that I have the sense of humor of a two year old baby," I said, still laughing. "I've watched stuff roll across tables and then laugh when they fell off–"

A high pitched scream interrupted me. A nearby woman dropped her basket of cobbler berries and raced away from whatever spooked her. Others began shrieking and running in all directions. I distinguished an abnormally large blue snake slithering within the chaos. It had to have been over ten feet tall, and had arms like a human, but they were covered in blue scales. A scaly blue tail extended out behind it. White and yellow scales ran a confusing pattern down its torso and its head and back. Large white fangs hung from its mouth, and a pink forked-tongue sometimes hissed out between them. The creature looked like the combination of a human and a snake.

It eventually caught eye contact with me and rattled the tip of its tail around. I stared into its big scarlet eyes. Without knowing, the snake-person reached into my mind. "_Look_ into my eyesss," it hissed in a deep voice to me. "Give up your mind. _I_ control you now, dear one."

Anger suddenly bubbled up inside of me when the voice echoed in my head. I reverted around and punched Linus in the stomach with full force. He didn't expect the blow, and got the breath knocked out of him. Trent was baffled about my attack. "Macca! What was that for?!" he confoundedly asked me.

I ignored his question and threw a punch at him, but missed when he dodged it. I snarled and continued to try to hit him. He knew something was wrong with me.

"Mac, snap out of it!" he said, blocking my fists. "Why are your eyes _red_?!"

I was tugged backwards and nearly fell over. I turned to face Linus with fury.

"Don't hurt her, Linus," Trent warned. But it was too late. Linus pushed me over before I could lay a hand on him. "Linus!" Trent yelled with annoyance.

"We got to take her down somehow," Linus replied. "C'mon, now's your chance.

"I'm _not_ going to hurt _Macca_," Trent replied through gritted teeth.

I quickly kicked my foot at Linus and hit him between the legs. He fell to his knees and held his crotch in pain. I sprang up and bowled over Trent. When he tumbled over, I hopped on top of him. He could not push me away as I pinned him down; I overpowered his strength. I made my teeth visible to him. Trent grunted and strained to keep me from biting down on his face.

Arms unexpectedly wrapped around me and picked me up. I refused to let go of Trent's wrists and kicked my legs around. Trent pulled away from me, and my hold on him released. Linus flattened me on the ground and grabbed my arms. I felt all of his bodyweight on top of me. He pressed my face to the ground as he forced my arms behind my back in an awkward position.

"Dude, quit it! She's not a fucking _pretzel_!" Trent fussed.

A slow, soothing flute tune suddenly filled the air. I stopped struggling and listened. A huge shadow covered the ground surrounding us for only a brief moment, then went away. The melody of the tune released me from a dark force. I felt my anger diminish, and a severe pain in both my elbows. "Ouch! Let go of me!" I yelped.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Linus said as he got off me and helped me up. "What happened to you?"

"What are you talking about?"

He gave me a weird look. "You just attacked us."

"Is that why you were holding me down?" Sudden loud hissing startled all three of us. Blue snake-people began to appear from every direction. They all had either blue or white scales covering their entire bodies, a few having gray scales going up their arms. Different patterns of yellow and white scales went down all of their torsos. Unlike the first snake-person, these all scaly human legs and were a bit short. They surrounded us, hissing and their big twisted red eyes darting around. There were too many to fight and nowhere to go.

A blur of blue dashed by us. The sound of a body hitting the ground followed it. "Hang tight, guys," a new voice said.

A man wearing a blue suit, whose face was hidden by a blue mask, fought against the snake-people with golden nunchuks. A golden dragon was coming from the right side of the suit with lightning bolts shooting out of its mouth.

"Go and hide!" he continued, striking another snake-person with his weapon.

Linus quickly scooped me over his shoulder and ran away with Trent leading him. I yelled in annoyance, "I'm not one of those helpless women in those old movies! I can run, too, you know!" As he ran, I saw a snake-person laying on the ground, motionless. I stared in bewilderment at the scene. Had the man who came to help us just kill one of the creatures?

Linus knew I was unhappy when he put me down beside a house. "Sorry," he said, "I panicked."

"About what?!"

"I just wanted to protect you."

"I can take care of _myself_!"

Without replying, Linus turned to stand beside Trent to watch the man in blue fight the snake-people; I forced myself between them to see as well. I was surprised to find more men fighting. The two new bodies were wearing a black and a red uniform, the same golden dragon design on them. I was wondering how they had appeared so quickly.

The man wearing black used a giant golden scythe as a weapon. He slashed it toward snake-people to cut them with long, deep wound.

The man wearing red sliced open a snake-person's arm with a golden sword when it attempted to sneak up on the man in blue. The blood that splattered against the ground made my stomach flip-flop.

It seemed as if more snake-people were coming from nowhere to join the battle. I could sense the intensity increasing. I watched in amazement as the three men skillfully fought against the scaly enemies, but they were soon becoming overwhelmed by the ferocity of all the chaos around them. Confusion ran through me when something unanticipated happened: undersized tornadoes replaced each of the men. One was made up of blistering fire, another was blinding blue lightning, and the last was a blend of dirt and rocks. The tornadoes sucked up snake-people and then slung them across the clearing. Some of the victims shrugged off the attack and joined back into the battle, others landed hard and never moved again.

My trance was broken when a familiar ringing came to my attention. I pressed my hand against my pant pocket and found it empty. My heart instantly skipped a beat. My cell phone was gone. I frantically searched the ground in hopes of spotting it, then I did. It laid on the ground near where Linus, Trent, and I were cornered just a few moments ago. It must have fallen out of my pocket when Linus picked me up.

The man in black tripped a snake-person with the curved blade of his scythe. As it went to get up, it picked up my cell phone and examined it curiously. The sudden ringing made it flinch.

Deprived of thinking, I shot toward the snake-person. Trent called after me to return, but I ignored him. Energy burst throughout my body as I sprinted. I did a front flip over the man in blue in order to keep going. He glanced at me while I was flipping above him. I landed on both feet and continued to the snake-person that had my phone. Then I tackled it.

I was disgusted by the thin mucus that covered its scales. It was slippery and made it difficult to hold on.

The snake-person and I wrestled all over the ground. It did not understand why I was attacking it. But I had to get my cell phone back because it was my boss that was calling me.

The snake-person was suddenly on top of me and hissed in my face. I found myself looking into its big red eyes. Remembering what happened last time, I looked away. Next thing I knew, I grabbed its forked tongue and yanked. The snake-person yowled in pain and jumped off me, but sent my handheld device gliding across the ground, and into the center of fighting. I saw a scaly foot kick it, then disappear into the fiery tornado.

_Well that's just great,_ I thought, dismayed. _It's gone forever. _Suddenly the tornado hastily approached me. I tried to get up and run from it, but it sucked me in like a vacuum cleaner. With heat coursing around me, I screamed in fear of being fatally burned, but instead of pain, I felt an arm wrap around me. I writhed in fright to get away.

Just as fast as the swirling flames engulfed me, cold air returned to my cheeks. My feet touched the ground again. "Stay here with your friends," the man in red instructed me through his red mask. I noticed a scar from something sharp run down the right side of his face, creating a narrow slit through his eyebrow. I was surprised there was no damage to his eye even though it slightly cut his eyelid down through the middle.

The man returned into the battle, stabbing a snake-person through its shoulder. "Macca, what were you thinking?" I heard Linus say. "You could've been _killed_!"

"Oh, shut up," I muttered under my breath. Without warning, my eyes followed a small black rectangle that flew through the air and landed in a pile of bloodstained snow. It was my cell phone.

A short pair of legs, subsequently, dashed by the snow pile. "Retreat!" a boy wearing a black sweatshirt shouted. He pushed a wheelbarrow full of candy.

"Lloyd, wait for me!" a girl wearing a hot pink sweatshirt said, following the boy.

I soon noticed that all of the fighting had stopped and the snake-people dissolved from sight. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard was empty except for the three men. Dead snake-people cluttered the open ground. Blood was spattered everywhere.

"Oh boy, look who's back," the man in blue said, as if he were not surprised.

"Lloyd and Hannah!" the man in red replied.

The man in black chased the two troublemakers. He grabbed both the flimsy capes that dangled down the backs of their sweatshirts. With a single firm tug, both of them were forced onto their rears. The wheelbarrow tipped over, making all the candy spill out into the walkway where the marketplace was. The man in black threw the children over his shoulders and returned to his friends. "Hey, put me down! Let me go!" the boy pleaded as he kicked his legs.

"Ouch! Stop, you're _hurting_ me!" the girl whined.

Not doing anything to appease them, the man in black handed the children to his friends one by one. The sweatshirts they wore had poorly painted skeleton ribs on them. I could not concept a sensible idea for why that particular image was chosen to match the children.

"I thought you said we'd get candy this time, Lloyd," the girl grumbled.

"Wait a second," I said, "you're telling me we got _attacked_ by mutated snakes just because a couple of _kids_ wanted _candy_?"

"Pretty much," the man in blue replied. "It's the third time this week they've tried to steal sweets from here."

"How'd they get the snakes?" Linus asked.

"Let's just say they opened a Serpentine Tomb and earned control over them," the man in black explained.

"_Serpentine_? I thought the Serpentine were just a legend," Trent said, dumbfounded.

"No, they're real alright, as you just witnessed."

The word "Serpentine" brought me back childhood memories of my older foster brothers who always tried to spook me with stories about an ancient race of snakes that used to rule the land of Ninjago until humans drove them underground into tombs. The Serpentine were indeed a legend, but it seems now two children have brought them back into the world after many centuries to use for their own demise.

"And _I'm_ going to use them to help me _rule_ Ninjago! With Hannah by my side, we'll be unstoppable!" the boy declared, interrupting my train of thought.

"If you're going to be 'unstoppable,' then why have you just been stopped?" I questioned him.

Lloyd glared at me with annoyance.

I smirked at his childish response.

"I'm making sure that I destroy _you_ first!" Lloyd threatened me.

I heard Trent silently chuckle behind me. "This kid doesn't know who he's dealing with right now," he whispered to Linus, who laughed as well.

Hannah suddenly tried to get away from man in red's grasp on her shoulders, but he clutched tight and held on. "Uh, Cole, are you sure we can't spank 'em this time?" he asked the man in black.

"Yes, Kai, remember Sensei's lesson: we cannot put off until tomorrow what can be done today, which means we have to properly take care of the problem _now_ so that these two don't come back _again_," he replied.

The man in red sighed. "Alright kids, time for another talk."

The man in black looked at me when the other two turned away with Lloyd and Hannah. "Call us if you have any other Serpentine issues, or if you spot any," he said. He turned and followed his friends. I remembered my cell phone and went over to the pile of snow it had landed in. I powered it on and listened to the voicemail my boss left, unaware of the long shadow that loomed over me.

"MACCA!" Linus and Trent shrieked at the same time.

I glanced towards them just as I was lifted off the ground. I screamed.

Briefly, Linus, Trent, and the men came running up to me. I stared at them all in fright as a dagger was put against my throat. "One more ssstep, ninjasss, and I'll make a messss out of her," a snake-person hissed above my head.

It was the first snake-person I had encountered.

Every one of them instantly stopped in their tracks with worry in their eyes. I could tell the mysterious men didn't know what to do. I felt the snake-person slither backwards to escape with me as its hostage. The situation was becoming hopeless.

A brutal force released the hold against me. I began to fall to the ground, but somebody quickly clasped me. The person cradled me comfortably. I looked up at my hero and saw that his face was hidden behind a mask like the other three men, except his was white.

"Huh, nice timing, Zane," the man in blue said as the man in white gently put me back on my feet. "Where've you been?"

"I was hiding in the snow on the candy shop's roof," the man in white answered, his voice slightly accented with tall vowels.

I looked at the roof he spoke of saw the imprint of a body in the deep snow. He must have blended in perfectly because I never noticed him up there.

The snake-person stirred on the ground next to the man in white. He stepped forward to block me from it. Slowly, it stood tall over him, dazed from his attack. "Leave, snake, your tribe has been defeated. Your time here is no longer beneficial to Lloyd and Hannah's evil scheme today," he said confidently.

The snake-person stared down, its eyes darting from me to him. The man in white stood his ground without a single flinch. Finally, the snake-person slithered out of the village in the opposite direction.

"I sense Lloyd and Hannah have escaped once more," he said, not facing his friends.

The three men immediately looked behind them to find nobody there. The man in red groaned.

"We might as well _camp_ out here tonight," the man in blue joked, "because they'll be back tomorrow. Just wait and see!"

The man in white turned around when I took my coat's hood off my head to tuck my curly hair back in it. My glance met his soft stare. I paused. His crystal blue eyes were so pristine that I could see my reflection in them. I expected him to look away and not just stand there, but it seemed as if he was frozen in time. "Uh…is he okay?" I asked the men.

The man in blue reached up and waved his gloved hand in front of the man in white's face. "Zane, hello? You home in there?" he teased.

The man in white blinked, but that was all. He still did not move nor come out of his peculiar trance towards me.

"Meh, he's weird. Just ignore him," the man in blue said.

"Trent!" a woman shouted. Trent's mother poked her head out from behind the front door of her house. "Honey, bring Macca and Linus and come inside. The snakes might come back_._"

Linus went over to the house to get out of the cold.

"You coming, Mac?" Trent asked.

"Yeah. Just let me call my boss back first," I replied.

Trent gave me a nod and followed Linus into the house. I was about to give the men my gratitude for all they did for us today, but they were already gone without a sound, almost like ghosts.

I powered on my cell phone again and dialed my boss's number. Once he answered his phone, I quickly began saying, "Sorry I didn't answer my phone, Mr. Matthews. You wouldn't believe what just happened–"

"Macca, I don't care," he said unhappily. "The label company has been here for the meeting that you _should've_ been here for over an _hour_ ago!"

"Wait, I thought the meeting wasn't until six o'clock?"

"No, it was at _four_ o'clock!"

I stood in silence because I knew I was deep trouble for the misunderstanding.

"You need to get here _now_."

"Yes, Mr. Matthews, I'm sorry. I'll be there right away." I ended the call while a sick feeling trickled into my stomach.

_How on earth am I going to get there? _I wondered.

"Do you need transportation?" a voice slightly accented with tall vowels asked, startling me.

I looked everywhere around the area but could not locate the man in white. Although I knew it was him that spoke, I started to question myself if it was just me hearing voices in my head. But when I turned back towards a house, my view was blocked by white fabric with a golden dragon designed on it. I jumped in surprise. How did the man in white sneak up on me so quietly that I never suspected his presence so close to me?

I slowly looked up at the man in white. He still stared down at me unblinkingly with his soft stare of crystal blue eyes. "Oh…wow, you _really_ make me feel like a midget from down here," I told him, realizing he was almost as giant as the snake-person that attacked me.

There was a pause. "I-I, um," he nervously stuttered, "I-I have always been…I-I mean, have had a much taller height than most other individuals I encounter."

"I'm just really short."

"Being five feet, two-point-four inches tall doesn't make you short, or underdeveloped. In fact, I sense you've already stopped growing height-wise."

His knowledge of my exact height made me uncomfortable, but I did not show it. "You _sense_?" I said.

"I-I have the gift of a sixth sense. Everybody can taste, touch, smell, hear, and see, unless they have some kind of malformation, but I was born with a sixth sense that nobody else has: I can sense what others cannot. For example, I can now sense that I have unintentionally made you uneasy by knowing your exact height, even though this is the first time we've met. My apologies."

"No, no, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting you to say that. So, why didn't you leave with the others?"

"I stayed behind to be sure none of the Serpentine lingered to harm any of the villagers, o-or _you_."

I nodded at the information.

"Um…I-I can provide transportation to your destination on my dragon."

"Your _dragon_?"

"Shard, yes, he's a gentle giant. There's no need to be apprehensive about being around him," he assured me. He held a hand out towards me. "If I may," he politely said.

"Uh…sure?" I replied, tensely taking his hand. He suddenly lifted me with his other hand and threw my arm over his shoulder. Before I could react, we were jumping from one snow-covered roof to another. I could not help but feel a rush of excitement and exuberance.

The man in white carefully let me down in a small clearing at the bottom of Jamanakai Village. "Wait, what about all the blood and stuff from the battle?" I asked.

"The villagers clean up everything and bury the bodies in gratitude of our efforts to protect them."

I followed the man in white around a corner and found a massive white-and-blue dragon in front of us. A saddle with two long wooden flagpoles – two flags waved in the wind at the tips – stuck up into the air was set on its back. Reins hung from its mouth. Its breath came out from its nostrils in puffs of steam. The man in white went up to the dragon and stroked its nose. I saw him whisper a greeting to it as well.

"I didn't think dragons were real," I said to myself.

The dragon gazed at me. Suddenly its yellow eyes dilated and it quickly approached me. I was intimidated when it pressed its nose against my breasts and belly and began to sniff me energetically.

The man in white yanked on the reins and yelled, "No!"

The dragon instantly withdrew and calmed down. The man in white looked at me with a mixture of shock and worry in his eyes. "Did he bite you?" he asked me.

I shook my head.

"Okay, good. My _deepest_ apologies. I have _never_ seen him behave like that before."

"We _really_ have to get moving," I said.

"R-right, let me help you up." After a boost onto the saddle, I was told to stand behind the seat and to hold on to the flagpoles.

"So I'm standing up?" I asked. "Isn't that a little farfetched?"

"It may seem like it, but trust me, you will not be harmed as long as you don't let go of them." The man in white jumped into the saddle once I was secure. He took the reins and firmly tugged them. The dragon flapped its wings, lifting us into the air. Speedily, Jamanakai Village disappeared behind us. We flew through chilling clouds, and wind blew through my hair, making it gracefully flap around.

"What is your destination?" the man in white questioned me.

"Ninjago City," I answered.

The man in white pulled the reins again and the dragon whipped to the left. I tautened my grip on the flagpoles as we lowered below the clouds. The wind became warm and unsatisfying. I looked down and saw scorching desert sand. From watching the many smooth sand dunes pass by, I knew we were flying over the Sea of Sand, an expansive desert that was once part of the Endless Ocean hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

I admired my low-lying surroundings without thinking of the pregnant silence between the man in white and me. His voice suddenly interrupted my daydreaming. "Do you live in Ninjago City?" he asked.

"Yep," I replied. "I was born there, raised there. No other place could ever be my home. You know why?"

"No, why?"

"'Cause my gangster street skills wouldn't be useful in a little village," I joked.

I expected the man in white to respond with a laugh, but there was an awkward silence.

_Maybe I said it wrong? _I assumed.

Soon a large city appeared in our view. Ninjago City, the largest city of the land, stood in the center of the Sea of Sand. Its tall skyscrapers lined the sky under the sun.

The man in white flew the dragon over Ninjago City and stopped. "Where is the location you must be at?" he asked.

"The Orb of Glass Dance Club," I said.

The dragon continued to hover over the city. I looked down to find a familiar street to follow. A memorial statue caught my eye. I bent over until my head was level with the man in white's, then I pointed at the statue. "See that statue over there, follow the road it's facing until it reaches the second intersection," I said.

The man in white led the dragon in the direction of the busy road I described until the second intersection.

"Now, turn right. Go down five blocks, then turn left."

He made the dragon fly right and a long stretch of stores and shops filled each side of the road. He turned left after five blocks. A familiar building with an immense glass ball on the front of the roof stood at the end of a block.

"There! Stop here."

The man in white lowered the dragon to the street and landed it. Car horns blared in frustration, making me laugh at the unexpected parking spot for the dragon. The man in white slid down the dragon's side and looked up at me. "Slide down, I'll catch you," he promised.

I sat down and pushed myself off. I glided right into his grasp. We both ran up to the entrance. "You've done _so_ much for me today," I said with gratitude.

"My duty is to protect peace, freedom, and courage in the face of all who threaten the land of Ninjago," he boldly stated. He took the bottom of his mask and slipped it off his face. His appearance caught me off guard. Since all I could see before were his eyes and black eyebrows, I had assumed that he would have black hair, but instead he had bleach blonde hair that stood straight up about three inches. How it was tucked away under his mask was beyond my intellect, but I also could not understand how every strand of hair ended at the same exact length, making his hair a flat surface at the top. "What I have done for you is nothing compared to what I normally deal with on a weekly basis," he continued, despite the bewildered look on my face. He said more things, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy examining his face. I saw that his skin was so pale that it seemed he had never seen the sun all his life. His head was shaped almost like perfectly straight lines were put together; his cheeks were flat, and his chin came down to a rounded point. A grim expression covered his face, but it was definitely not unfriendly, even though he looked as if he never smiled.

"Who are you?" I curiously asked him.

"I-I'm Zane, the white Ninja of Ice," he answered.

"Ninja? You mean they're real, too? I don't know _what_ to believe anymore," I playfully said.

Zane still didn't laugh at my sarcastic attitude, he didn't even crack a smile, but confusion glistened in his eyes.

"What is your name?" he inquired.

"Oh, I'm Macca. I'm the DJ here."

"What exactly is a 'DJ'?"

"Macca! What are you doing?!" my boss, Mr. Matthews, furiously asked after opening one of the glass doors. "The label company has been waiting, get in here _now_ or else I'll cut your paycheck in _half_!"

Without saying goodbye, I hastily rushed into the club. Zane stood in the same place. "Macca…I-I've never seen a woman as _beautiful_ as you in all my life," he breathed to himself.

== Hey guys! I hope you all like this so far! Please leave comments and/or reviews so I know my story is being read! Okay, I know majority of you all are probably like, "Oh no, not another Zane loving an OC fan fiction." but trust me, I think this will be different from all the other fan fictions. Just stay tuned because I think you'll be impressed with what's to come!

For all those who didn't really understand the Prologue, I'll just say that the Ninja are actually the bad guys in this fan fiction. If you're truly a Ninjago fan, I'm pretty sure the description of "man in a black mask" and "man in a red mask" kind of pointed fingers at two particular ninjas from the show. So as you read this fan fiction, you'll get deeper and deeper into what leads into Macca getting attacked and why she was attacked. What did she do to them? Did it involve Zane? You'll have to find out by reading my fan fiction.

Okay, there will definitely be another chapter added by tomorrow, unless something comes up unexpectedly and I can't publish it. I don't think it'll be as long as this first chapter (sorry if this was too long for you) but it'll still be a good chapter. I promise. See ya, homies!==


	3. Chapter 2: Zane's Discovery

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 2:**

**Zane's Discovery**

_The hot rays of sun_ bounced off my skin. Since I was ridiculously late to an important meeting almost three days ago, I was told not to come back to work for a few days as a punishment. So in order to keep myself occupied until tomorrow night, which was a profit-promising Friday night concert, I have been working on my soccer skills in Central Park in the mornings and then going off doing other things in the afternoons with Linus and Trent.

After signing a few autographs and giving hugs to fans, I stuck yellow targets on the back wheels of many bicycles that were lined on a bike rack. My plan was to kick my soccer ball at the target when a person was riding their bicycle along a curvy path. The trick was to hit the target while it was spinning with the wheel.

A man eventually took his bicycle from the rack. I rested the bottom of my shoe on top of my soccer ball. All the man had to do was ride right in front of me so I could perform my practical joke.

I intently watched him pedal away from the rack, and then turn in my direction. The man turned with the path, making his back wheel vulnerable. I quickly kicked my ball at the moving target.

Bam!

It hit the target perfectly, but it also tipped the bicycle over. I grabbed my ball and ran away. The man got up and started chasing me, but I was already too far away. He stopped and yelled, "YOU BITCH!"

I laughed and hid behind a shrub to catch my breath. My prank was a success.

I was wiping grass from my ball when I heard children screaming. I glanced over the shrub and saw children vacate a small playground. A blue snake-person tripped over a swing and face planted into the mulch. When it stood up, I realized it had a bucket stuck on its head.

_You've got to be joking, _I thought, putting my ball into my mesh bag. The snake-person reached in front of its body to feel something so it could guide itself someplace.

I approached the snake-person as it hit its head against a tetherball pole by accident. I pressed my hands on its chest to push it over, and then pinned it down onto the mulch. I was surprised that it didn't try to fight back, as if it was exhausted. "Alright, I'm going to try to get this thing off your head, but if I do, you can't attack me. Deal?" I said to it.

The snake-person nodded and laid still. With a sigh, I grabbed the top of the bucket and pulled. It wouldn't budge. "How did this happen to you, anyway?" I asked it.

"My mate happened," it hissed, the bucket making it echo. "Ssshe'sss the love of my life, but when I don't make her happy, nobody'sss happy."

"What did you do?"

"We lossst a battle againssst thossse pesssky ninjasss again. I don't underssstand why we were even under the control of two ssstupid children."

"You mean Lloyd and Hannah?"

"Yesss! Wait, how did _you_ know that?"

"I was there when the battle happened. What do you mean by 'were under the control'?"

"Our sssecond in command challenged our general in the Ssslither Pit. When he won, he became our new general and overthrew Lloyd and Hannah. They were exiled from our tribe. Nobody knowsss where've gone to."

I got off the snake-person and pulled on the bucket standing up. It finally began to shift, so I pulled harder.

A massive shadow covered us. I looked up and saw a brown dragon land in the park. My first thought was one of men in the colorful suits, or from what I learned just a few days ago, one of the four ninjas.

A man in a black suit hopped off the dragon and made his way towards me. The design on the suit was different this time: three ropes wrapped around his upper body and an artificial skull was placed where they all intersected in the front. "What are you doing?" he confusedly asked me.

"It had a bucket stuck on its head. If you had seen it, you probably would've helped it, too," I told him.

The man in black watched me struggle pulling the bucket. "Here, let me try," he said.

I let go and he took hold of the plastic cylinder. With one firm tug, the bucket popped right off. The snake-person sat up and looked up at both of us. "Okay, now you can kill me, ninja," it said.

"Kill you? But you weren't doing anything," I said.

"It wasn't?" the man in black, or ninja, asked.

"No, it was only scaring people because it couldn't see where it was going. Please don't kill it."

The ninja looked at me with a doubtful glimmer in his brown eyes. "It's your lucky day, snake," he then said.

Relief flooded through me, until the ninja got down, flipped the snake-person over, and sat on it. Without making a worthless fuss, I sat down in front of him. I knew he had something on his mind when he pointed his finger at me. "Why do you look so familiar?" he asked me.

"It depends on _how_ I look familiar to you, like do I look familiar because of how I'm dressed?"

"Well, not really _that_, but have you been to Jamanakai Village lately?"

"Bingo!"

"Oh, yeah! You're the girl that my brother Kai kept talking about when we got home after we battled the Serpentine there."

"Talking about me?"

"Yeah, he wouldn't stop going on about how similar you looked to that famous DJ Macca Soxx chick."

I smiled at him.

"Wait, are you–"

"Yep, in the flesh."

"Whoa, Kai is going to _freak_ out!"

"Kai sounds like he's a big fan."

"Oh no, he's the biggest fan ever."

"Really? Which color is he?"

"The red Ninja of Fire; Jay's the blue Ninja of Lightning, and Zane's the white Ninja of Ice. I'm Cole, the black Ninja of Earth."

"I met Zane. He gave me a ride back to Ninjago City that day."

"Huh. So _that's_ why he came home so late. Was he acting weird around you?"

"I don't think so. Why? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine. It's just that he wasn't himself when he came home that day."

"What was wrong with him?"

"We really don't know, but it was like whenever somebody talked to him, he wouldn't even be paying attention, like he kept zoning out from his surroundings. We thought he was sick for a while, but then he was perfectly fine the next day."

"It's probably because I forgot to thank him for giving me the lift."

"I'm not too sure about that," he said, knowing I was just joking. "But whatever was bothering him isn't bothering him now. But since we're talking about Zane, you want to come with me to see the new home he found for us?"

"What happened to your old home?"

"The Monastery of Spinjitzu got burned down by those blue Serpentine we battled back at Jamanakai Village. You saw how their general didn't have a golden staff with him, right?"

"Which one is the general?"

"The one with the tail."

"Oh, yeah, it didn't have anything in its hands."

"Well, the second time we stopped Lloyd and Hannah, the two kids who were trying to steal the candy, was the first time they used the Serpentine. The entire village became hypnotized by them, and the only cure was the anti-venom from the general's staff. We took the staff and poured the anti-venom into the fountain. After all the villagers were cured, we decided to keep the staff just in case something else were to happen involving the Serpentine.

"A couple nights ago, Zane went out into the Wildwood Forest to follow a falcon–"

"Wait a second, he followed some random bird?"

"Because it danced, yes. But anyway, the falcon led him to Lloyd and Hannah's next evil scheme. They were using the Hypnobrai to build them a gigantic Treehouse Fortress as a headquarters for when they took over Ninjago. The four of us destroyed it the next day, but our Sensei and Kai's sister had also left the Monastery of Spinjitzu to help us out when I somehow became hypnotized and attacked them. With the monastery left unguarded, the Serpentine invaded it and burned it to the ground. Zane followed the falcon again and it led him to our new home, the Destiny's Bounty."

"Is it a monastery, too?"

"Well…you're just going to have to see it for yourself. We've been cleaning it up _all_ day. When I left, the guys were playing videogames. This is the perfect opportunity to surprise Kai with _you_!"

"Cool, but what about the snake?"

"We'll drop him off away from civilization. C'mon." Cole stood up and picked the snake-person up without trouble. We both walked to his dragon. I noticed it was not as energetic as Zane's dragon was the other day, in fact, it seemed a bit tired. "Since Zane has already given you a ride on _his_ dragon, I take it you already know the drill?" he asked.

"Yeah, I remember," I replied. I climbed up onto the dragon's back, stood behind the saddle, and held on to the flagpoles. "So what's your dragon's name?" I asked as Cole hopped into the saddle with the snake-person still in his grasp.

"His name is Rocky, and I used to be scared of him."

I laughed. "Wow, scared of your own pet? That's a first."

Cole singlehandedly took the reins and made Rocky fly into the air. "Dragons were my biggest fear back when I first became a ninja, but then Rocky changed that. He's been my best friend ever since," he said.

"I remember a dog we had when I was growing up. He was old, and smelly, and just downright retarded, which are three of many reasons why we named him Butt."

Cole sniggered at my childhood story.

"Finally! A ninja who'll _actually_ laugh at what I'm saying! I tried twice with Zane, and he didn't even react."

"Yeah, Zane is…different. He doesn't understand humor the way everyone else does. Don't take offense from him with stuff like that, though, he just has a hard time relating to people in that way."

After flying over the Sea of Sand for a few minutes, Cole had Rocky swoop down and land. We slid off to let the snake-person go. "You better not go back to Ninjago City," Cole warned it, "or else you _will_ be killed then."

"I'm returning to my tribe, ninja. Why would I be ssso ssstupid?" it retorted. It then turned to me. "You helped me, I will not forget thisss," it graciously said.

Cole and I watched it walk away from us without looking back. We returned to Rocky and continued our journey. I eventually saw a crimson mountain in the distance. "We're almost there," Cole assured me. He flew Rocky around the mountain and landed him in front of a broken, ancient wall that had four craggy arches in it. Three colored dragons rested in three of the arches.

I slid off Rocky with Cole. The brown dragon slowly walked into the last available arch and laid down. All four dragons were resting their heads on the ground with wearied half-closed eyes, their sides heaving for some odd reason. "Are they all sick?" I asked Cole worriedly.

He gazed at each of them for a moment. "They've been this way since we started living on the Bounty. I don't know _what's_ wrong with them," he confessed.

Cole led me over a sand dune and I was stopped by the most anomalous sight: an old dry-docked pirate ship.

"What the _hell_?" I confoundedly said. "_This_ is your _home_?"

"Well, it looks rough on the outside, but it's actually in pretty great condition on the inside. Once we get the rest of the plumbing done, we'll be good to go."

I followed Cole around the side of the ship, and we boarded it by getting across a sturdy piece of driftwood. The Destiny's Bounty was built out of a mixture of red, yellow, and brown wood. A dragon's head was carved as the bowsprit of the ship. A single mast towered over the main deck with two sails that would spread out like wings of a bird when ropes were pulled. There was a level under the insolated quarterdeck. The quarterdeck had a pushed out window so whoever was steering the ship could see.

"Welcome to the Destiny's Bounty, our new ninja headquarters," Cole said. He led me through an open door that went below deck. The hallway was dim. I assumed electricity didn't run through lights yet.

Cole slipped off his mask when we stopped beside a door. He had thick black hair that ended past his ears, bushy eyebrows, brown eyes, and a cute smile. I could not help myself but think about how masculine he looked.

Clicking noises and male voices came from behind the door. "Good, they're still playing," he said. "You want to surprise Kai?"

"Sure, I think I know what to do," I said.

Cole opened the door and stepped in. "Hey, Cole! It's about time you got back," I heard one of the ninjas say. The combination of sunlight streaming through a window and light from a television screen filled the room. I saw the outline of three heads in front of the television.

"Whew! Cole, did you put on some cologne or something like that?" another ninja said.

_Dang, did I really put on too much? _I wondered. I glanced at Cole to tell me which one was Kai.

"Kai's the one with the really spikey hair," he whispered.

I nodded and regarded the outline of irregular spikey hair that pointed to the left from looking at him from behind. I inaudibly tiptoed to Kai and removed my fitted hat from my head. When I was close enough, I got down on my knees and wrapped my arms around him. "Wow, Cole, I know we're brothers and all, but that's a _little_ too close for me," Kai said uncomfortably.

"But I'm not Cole," I said. "I'm someone that's heard _so_ much about you, Kai." I planted a passionate kiss on Kai's cheek.

"Uh…who are you?"

"Macca Soxx."

Kai suddenly shot up and threw his videogame controller in the air.

I fell backwards in surprise. Zane and Jay turned their heads to see what had just happened. Kai stared down at me with his gloved hands over his mouth. "Macca Soxx?!" he excitedly said aloud. "Are you _really_ Macca Soxx?! Oh my god, Macca Soxx just _kissed_ me! I'm flipping out right now!"

"You're acting a crazy fangirl, you know that?" I said with humor, putting my fitted hat back on.

"Hey, it's the girl from Jamanakai Village," Jay said. He had neatly brushed brown hair. His right eyebrow had a minor slit through it.

"Surprise! I found her!" Cole said from the back of the room.

"So Kai, Cole tells me that you're my biggest fan–" I began.

"Yeah I am! I know _everything_ about you!" Kai interrupted eagerly.

"He seriously does," Jay said. "Ha, you should see the posters he has of you. They make me nervous just by the look in your eye."

"Alright, this sounds like an opportunity for you to prove yourself worthy," I told Kai, standing up. "What is my entire name?"

"McKenna Joyce Carson," he answered.

"Okay, good. What position did I play back in my days of soccer?"

"You were the goalkeeper, and if you were ever playing on field, you were usually a forward, also known as a striker."

"Good. What part was I in a four-part choir?"

"Baritone."

"Three-part choir?"

"Second soprano or alto, it depended on the song."

"How old was I when I first became famous?"

"Fifteen."

"What is my eye color?"

"Hazel."

"When is my birthday?"

"October 11."

"What is the most recent brand of cologne I have bought?"

"Getting Noticed by Jasper Wade."

"What kind of deodorant do I use?"

"Excitement Path."

I laughed. "You're impressing me a little bit, but also creeping me out. Okay, last question, and this will prove if you are truly my biggest fan. What…is my breast size?"

Jay began laughing uncontrollably. "Kai," he said, "I'm going to die if you get this right."

Kai hesitated. I thought I had finally stumped him, but then he sighed and unwillingly said, "Size thirty-four C."

Jay fell over laughing as Kai blushed in embarrassment. Zane said nothing as he grimly shook his head. I laughed and nodded at Kai. "Kai, how in the _world_ do you _know_ that?!" Cole asked.

"Well, however you found that out is something I'm not interested in hearing about, but it's official, Kai's my biggest fan. Congrats," I said.

"D-do you want to play videogames with us?" Kai nervously asked me.

"Sure. I see you guys got the new Digital Y game console," I said.

"Yeah, it was actually donated to us by the company that made it," Jay said.

"Did you guys know that they put cheat codes in it that works for all the games that can be played through it?"

"No," Cole replied, "but that's awesome."

"Here, I'll show you the ones that are about _me_." Kai handed me his videogame controller. Zane got up to let Cole sit down and play. When the game was back at the main menu, I saw that it was about the ninjas. "Well isn't that pretty legit," I said. Jay made the game go to the character menu. Since Jay, Zane, and Cole picked themselves, I was left with the choice of Kai. But not for long. "Okay, so even though this is the first time I've ever played this game, I'm going to replace Kai with myself," I began pushing buttons in a certain order in which I had memorized in the past. Suddenly, the screen seemed to reset as if nobody chose their character. "Choose your characters again. Sorry about that," I said.

When they re-chose themselves, the game whispered their character's name, which was a part of the cheat code. When I selected Kai, his picture changed to me and the game whispered, "Macca. Mother. Fucking. Soxx."

Cole let out an astounded, "Ooh!"

"I'll still have whatever weapon Kai originally had in this game, but at least I have my own domination lines," I enthusiastically said.

Jay made the game start. At first, I was terrible and losing lives, but I was getting the hang of it after a few minutes. The digital version of myself fought living skeletons with a regular sword. Every time she knocked off a skeleton's head, she would say, "Hey knucklehead, I told you, you ain't going to win."

Kai chuckled at more of her aggravating lines when we all heard the door open again. "What took you so long," I heard Kai say. I turned around and saw an old man with a long white beard walk into the room, using a thick stick of bamboo as a cane. He wore a kasa made of rice straw on his head, and a white garment with a black belt around his waist. A young girl, who was around my age, came in behind him. Her straight black hair ended by her cheeks, and she had short, dainty bangs. Her red dress looked to be a personalized kimono with no sleeves, and when the dress ended at her knees, a layer of thin red pants continued to her feet. I remembered how Cole had mentioned a Sensei and Kai's sister earlier, so I assumed that these two were them. They both looked around the room with impressed faces.

"Wow! This place looks…amazing!" the girl said. "You guys did _all_ this?"

"Ninjas don't just _fight_, Nya, we _clean_," Cole replied.

"Oh…" the old man said with interest, "you have _exceeded_ my expectations. But can you _keep_ it up? And who is this? I do not recognize a head of luscious curly hair in my group of young students."

I gazed at the old man and smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Macca. I'm just visiting," I said.

"A visitor is good for my four students. They tend to _listen_ to me more intently with one around."

We all heard a car horn outside and the rumbling of an engine. Nya approached the window to see who was here. "Looks like we're about to have _more_ visitors, and _loud_ ones at that," she said.

"Aw, it's my parents!" Jay groaned. "Please! If they start yapping, just don't get them going, okay? They don't know when to quit! And when _you_ start talking, then _they'll_ start talking, and suddenly, before you know it, half the day is gone, and it's not even–"

"We get it!" Kai blurted out. "They talk a lot!"

Jay looked down at his controller in embarrassment of his out of control rambling.

"The cherry doesn't fall far from its blossom…" Kai mumbled. Zane shut off the game console and followed us outside to Jay's parents. They're old jalopy came rumbling up and banged its massive bumper against a mass of useless rubble that was being tossed out.

"Oh! Take a note Edna: either better brakes or a better bumper," Jay's father told his wife in a country accent. His attention suddenly turned to the pile of junk. He excitedly slipped off his goggles and leather safety helmet. "Would you look at all this great stuff! They _can't_ just get rid of it! We should've brought the trailer, Edna."

"This ain't a flea market, Ed–" Jay's mother also removed off her goggles and safety helmet, "–we're here for Jay."

"How's that? Did you take the note?" Jay's father said with a hand over his ear, pretending to have not heard what his wife just said.

Jay's mother sighed. "I'm writing it down, Ed." She grabbed a notepad and began writing.

"Mom! Dad!" Jay greeted as he walked across the skinny driftwood with his arms raised in the air. I could tell he was trying to sound happy to see them. "What are you doing here?"

Jay's mother threw the notepad behind her and stood up. "Oh, look at my baby boy! It's been so long since we've heard from you!" she cooed.

"Ma, I called you _two_ days ago," Jay replied at the same time as the rest of us filed in beside him.

"Well it's not soon enough, son," Jay's father told him. When he hopped out of the topless car, I saw that his father wore a dirty blue button-up shirt with filthy green overalls on top. His worn out brown boots were just as bad, if not worse. He had white hair and a little bit of white hair on his chin as well.

Jay's mother had aging brown hair that was put up in a bun. She wore red reading glasses and a brown pilot's jacket. A ring of keys jingled from her pant pocket as she got out of the car.

"When are you coming out to the junkyard? You say that you're coming and then don't," Jay's father said.

"Dad, do we have to talk about the junkyard in front of my friends?" Jay asked is a loud whisper.

"He hates it when we tell people he was born in a junkyard," his mother told us. "Ooh! And who are you two?" she asked Nya and me. She gasped. "You two are so _cute_!"

Nya and I exchanged confused glances. This woman was practically about to hug us as if we were married to Jay!

"My son has been telling us _so_ much about…well, one of you," she continued.

"_Mom_!" Jay groaned with annoyance.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," Nya politely said to his mother. "I'm sure if you want Jay can give you the tour. He worked _very_ hard on it."

Jay flinched at Nya's words.

"We'd love a tour!" his parents both said.

Jay pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll give them a tour," he said. "Guys, this is my mom, Edna, and this is my dad, Ed."

We all greeted his parents by shaking their hands.

"Would you like to join the tour of the Bounty, Macca?" Zane asked me.

"Sure," I replied when I turned back to the great ship. Jay showed us what was below deck; it was mostly just empty rooms that were going to be used for special training equipment, but a few were bedrooms, storage rooms, a couple bathrooms, and even Sensei Wu's room, which was located near the front of the ship. Then he showed us the level under the quarterdeck, which contained a dining room, a table and a kitchen in the room behind it. The last spot of the Bounty to visit was the quarterdeck.

Jay led us up the second flight of stairs and around to the side of the Bounty. After opening the door, Jay said, "And this is the bridge."

I looked between Ed and Edna's heads and saw a massive screen on the wall. The radar that was on it showed airplanes flying through the sky.

Jay pointed to a cylinder with handles that hung from the tall ceiling. "This extends into a periscope," he said, hopping and grabbing its handles to pull it down and look through it. "It shows us what's going on in Ninjago." Jay playfully spun it around and let it shrink back up to where it was before. He then walked in front of an oddly shaped machine. "And this, if a serpentine isn't giving us the answers we want, and we're up _late_ at night–"

"A device to read their minds?" Edna excitedly interrupted.

"An audio appliance to make them talk?" Ed asked.

"No, a cappuccino machine," Jay answered. He put a cup under one of the spouts and pulled down a trigger. Steaming brown liquid poured into the cup.

"Amazing, son!" Ed praised. "We're so proud of you."

Cole approached the radar and pointed at a stand that had a red button at the top. "Why don't you tell them about the button," Cole prompted.

Jay sarcastically sniggered. "It's not ready yet."

"Ready or not, we've been learning all day. What's the button _supposed_ to do, Mr. Tour Guide dude?" I said.

"Jay's working on a new special defense system," Zane informed us.

"Something every ninja headquarters needs," Kai added.

Ed approached the stand and bent over. "Oh, really?" he said. "What does it do? Can I help?"

"No, it's okay. I don't need your help, dad," Jay told him, slightly nudging him away. "Let's just leave it alone. Hey, look at the time! Don't you need to get back before it gets dark? I told you, there's dangerous Serpentine out there."

"Well, I suppose we _could_ get back," Ed disappointedly replied.

Cole went up to Jay and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Edna, it was a _pleasure_ hearing about Jay's first potty time," he said with a big smile.

"Oh! If you thought _that_ was good, wait until you hear the story about the time I caught him kissing his pillow," Edna cooed, planting a motherly kiss on Jay's cheek.

Jay sighed and nudged her away from him. "Snakes, Ma, _snakes_!" he irritably said.

"Okay, we're going, we're going," she assured her son. We all followed them outside to tell them goodbye. The sunset cast out orange rays of warm sunlight on Ed and Edna's old, banged up jalopy. Its engine loudly rumbled.

"So you promise to come out to the junkyard and visit your mother and father?" Edna asked Jay as Ed backed up the car.

"Yes, I promise, but only if you leave! I don't want you to get hurt; it's getting dark," Jay replied. "Uh, your headlights are working, right?"

After a little thump, the car's headlights flashed on, blinding us all. I covered my eyes in pain.

Ed chuckled. "Like 'em? I used a little extra juice." The headlights shut off and the car reversed before turning around and driving away. "Bye, son! I couldn't be more proud!" Ed praised.

"And bring Nya and Macca with you, will ya? I can see why you like them!" Edna said.

"_Mom_!" Jay groaned.

"Now that they have left," Sensei Wu said, "perhaps Jay can teach us the art of… kissing pillows." He pressed his hand against his mouth as he tried to suppress a laugh, but it spilled out.

Jay groaned loudly and boarded the Bounty.

All of us, except for Zane, began to laugh. A poke to my shoulder made me turn to Kai.

"You know, Macca, Zane's cooking tonight. You want to stay for dinner? I can take you home afterwards," he offered.

"Are you kidding me? My stomach was growling throughout that entire tour! Of course I'll stay for dinner," I replied.

* * *

><p>Two hours passed and the moon was beginning to brightly shine in the darkness. The smell of delicious food filled the small dining room. I couldn't believe that Zane was still bringing out different plates of food for us as we began to eat.<p>

"I love it when it Zane's night to cook," Jay soon said.

"Hey, I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder last night," Cole replied.

"That's because it glued our mouths shut," Kai said. "You really thought Jay was speechless _all_ throughout dinner?"

"Yeah, _please_ don't make that again," Jay said.

Zane emerged from the kitchen and set down a plate with a big cooked turkey on the table. "Dinner is served," he said.

We all looked at Zane with weird expressions because of the pink apron that was wrapped around his waist. Suddenly we all burst out in laughter.

Zane looked around at us with confusion. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Zane!" Nya laughed. "You're wearing a…even _I_ wouldn't wear _that_!"

"You laugh because I take steps to ensure I am _clean_ after cooking?"

"No!" Kai laughed. "We laugh because you came out wearing that _ridiculous_ outfit!"

"I guess we don't share the same sense of humor."

"Um, well, how about _this_?" Cole said. He picked up his plate and smashed the food on it to Kai's face. I laughed hard as the pieces of shrimp slowly slid down his face. Everybody else joined. Nobody even noticed Sensei Wu get up and grab a bowl of soup from the far end of the table. "How could you not find _that_ funny?" Cole asked Zane, who stood watching our laughter with his grim facial expression.

Sensei Wu walked around the table and threw the bowl of soup on top of Cole's head.

"AH!" Cole yelled in surprise.

"_Now_ you are brothers," Sensei Wu said to Cole and Zane.

We all laughed again, and eventually, food began to pelt us. Kai threw a shrimp at me so hard that it knocked my fitted hat off my hat.

"You're going to pay for that, you little bastard!" I playfully threatened, throwing a shrimp back at him. I looked over at Zane and saw that he seemed unhappy. I felt guilty for laughing at him, and seeing Jay throw food at him as well as the rest of us.

When our food fight died down, we continued to laugh a little bit and wipe the remains of food from our clothes. "This act of immaturity causes me sense that the prophecy of the Green Ninja will never fulfilled," Zane grimly said, removing his apron and taking a seat beside Kai.

"That's crazy talk, everybody knows _I'm_ going to be the Green Ninja," Jay boldly replied.

"What 'Green Ninja'? I don't see any Green Ninja at this table." I said.

Everybody looked at one another. "Can we tell Macca about the prophecy, Sensei?" Kai asked the old man.

"Please, allow me," Sensei Wu said. "Macca, let us tell you the story from the very beginning, the creation of Ninjago to be exact. Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by my father, the First Spinjitzu Master, by the use of the Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu: the Scythe of Quakes, the Nunchuks of Lightning, the Shurikens of Ice, and the Sword of Fire; weapons so powerful, no one could handle all of their power at once.

"When my father passed away, my older brother, Garmadon, and I swore to protect the weapons, but my brother was consumed by darkness and wanted to possess them. A battle between brothers broke out, and my brother was struck down and banished to the Underworld.

"Peace returned and I hid the weapons, but knowing my brother's relentless ambition for power, I placed a guardian to protect them. And for fear of my _own_ demise, I gave a map of the weapons' locations to an honest man to hide.

"That honest man was Kai and Nya's father, and the guardians of the weapons were my students' dragons. As you can tell, my students now possess the Four Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.

"The prophecy of the Green Ninja states that one ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja. My students have been training hard to achieve the position, because the Green Ninja is destined to defeat the Dark Lord."

"Wow," I breathed, intrigued, "but what about Lloyd and Hannah? Do they have anything to do with the prophecy?"

"Lloyd is Lord Garmadon's son, and Hannah is just his partner in crime. They have nothing to do with the prophecy of the Green Ninja, but my students have been busy trying to stop them for some time now."

"So wait, _Lloyd_ is you _nephew_?!"

_But you're _so_ old! _I added to myself.

"Yes, Lloyd is indeed my nephew. He believes that he is to be the next dark ruler of the Underworld after his father, so he wants to take over Ninjago to prove himself worthy of the position. In order for his destiny to be reached, he and Hannah unleashed the Hypnobrai Tribe from their tomb."

"Aren't there, like, four or five tribes of Serpentine, though?"

"Yes, the Hypnobrai, Fangpyre, Constrictai, Venomari, and the Anacondrai. The Hypnobrai hypnotize others to gain control over them; the Fangpyre can turn anyone and anything into a serpent by their sharp bite; the Constrictai have the ability to crush and drill holes through anything they desire; the Venomari spit their hallucinatory venom to make their enemy weak and vulnerable; the Anacondrai can swallow anything that can fit between their powerful jaws, and swallow their prey hole."

"That makes me kind of scared," I admitted, thinking of running into one of them and being killed. I continued to learn about the Serpentine and the prophecy of the Green Ninja until the moon was high in the starry sky. By the end of dinner, I was yawning and feeling the urge to lay in bed.

"I call taking Macca home!" Kai announced.

"I'm so tired and stuffed right now, it's not even funny," I drowsily said. "Why do I still feel like eating?"

"Well, you better get used to it, because whenever Zane cooks, you can never get enough," Cole replied.

Kai and I got up and made our way toward the door. "Oh wait, I got to do something real quick," I said. I approached Zane and ran my fingers through his hair.

Nya laughed. "What are you doing to Zane?"

"I just want experience this moment, okay? Oh my gosh, how does it stand up like this?"

"It's natural," Zane said.

"Zane looks like he's enjoying Macca's attention over there," Jay teased.

I felt Zane tense up. "Oh, shut up. Kai's been enjoying my attention all day. Leave Zane alone," I said. "Now I guess I have to leave _him_ alone since I said that." I giggled as I lightly pulled up thin strands of Zane's hair to straighten it, but they wouldn't stay. Finally I gave up. "Whatever, you'll have bed head in the morning anyway."

I turned to leave with Kai when Zane used both his hands to brush his hair all the way back and then let it go. I looked to see it all standing up perfectly again. I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. I was shocked when he actually smiled at me, but I didn't say anything about it.

* * *

><p>==Hey guys. School was delayed this morning due to freezing temperatures so I was able to add this chapter early. I didn't think this chapter would be as long as the first chapter but I was wrong. I hope that's not an issue. Chapter 3 will be added tonight. It's one of my favorites, so I think you'll all like it. In case you're wondering, yes I am basically rewriting season 1 of Ninjago. So that means I'll be writing what happens in each episode. I don't think that'll really bother a lot of people but to me I imagine what happened in the particular episode that's being written about and I enjoy it. Kind of like watching the Harry Potter movies and then reading the books. I just like it.<p>

I'm sorry that there's a random [Later that evening] thing in the middle of the chapter, but I had to put something there. I had originally just put in one of those breaks in a chapter like you find when you read a REAL book, but it wouldn't let me do it on here, which is fine. It was an easy fix.

I forgot to mention that in Chapter 1, Zane doesn't have a British accent. His voice actor in the TV show is Canadian, but Canada doesn't exist in the world of Ninja so I couldn't describe his voice that way. I had to describe it differently. I don't think that'll bother anybody.

Oh yeah, and why have I gotten no comments so far?! Haha it's driving me crazy! But this one girl has started following me, so I'm excited about that. In case you don't see it, I'm new at this publishing fan fiction stuff. I'm still learning the website and how to use it. But I've been writing this fan fiction since fall of 2013, and I have everything planned out for what I want to do with this fan fiction. I've just had to start over like five times as time has gone by.

Again, Chapter 3 will be added tonight. Just stay in tuned and enjoy! Thanks homies!==


	4. Chapter 3: The Fangpyre Ambush

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 3:**

**The Fangpyre Ambush**

_He should have been here by_ now. I had told him to meet me early this morning in the Badlands, but I've been here for about thirty minutes, just lying on the roof of my Ferrari as my dubstep boomed from the secret stereo in the trunk. I was wearing a surprise and was excited for him to see it.

Suddenly, a familiar red dragon circled above me. "It's about time you got here!" I said to myself. I went and turned off the music as Kai landed his dragon nearby. I quickly ran up to him to see his reaction to my outfit.

At first he laughed, then he said, "Why are you wearing me?"

"I'm wearing you with a Macca Soxx twist, and I hope you like that I straightened my hair because it took me two hours to do it this morning," I replied. I climbed up behind Kai and held on to the flagpoles. I saw that as Flame, Kai's dragon, attempted to flap his wings to fly once more, he struggled.

"C'mon, Flame, you can do it," Kai encouraged, stroking him. Flame lifted into the air and began flying in the direction of the Bounty very weakly. I was nervous that Flame would just give out and we wouldn't make it there at all.

Last night, when Kai flew me home, all the other dragons were asleep, but just by listening to them breathe I knew they all must be very ill of something.

When I was dropped off, I had told Kai that I wanted to help clean up the rest of the Bounty with them today since I had nothing else planned, except when I had to leave for work. I saw how dusty the bridge was before I left.

The crimson mountain came into view after a long ride on Flame. I was dying to get off so I could stop feeling like Flame was going to fall from the sky at any moment. I quickly got off before Kai as soon as Flame clumsily landed in front of his open arch. Flame slowly went under his arch and plopped down. Wisp, Jay's dragon, and Rocky both lifted their heads as Kai and I walked past them. I glanced back at Shard and saw that he stared at me with weary, tired eyes. I quickly ran back to him and laid across his big snout. "What's up, big guy? Did you miss me?" I asked him.

Shard snorted and sniffed my legs, trying to reach my belly.

"Why do you like me so much?"

Shard didn't respond to me with any bodily gesture, just rested his chin on the ground. I stroked his nose a couple times before returning to Kai, who had stopped and waited for me. "Looks like you chose your favorite dragon," he said sarcastically.

"More like _he_ chose _me_."

Kai and I made our way to the Bounty and climbed up the two flights of stairs that went up to the bridge. The bridge was full of little noises as new electronics were alive and working on the two surrounding walls. "Ooh, did you guys get the electricity finished after I left last night?" I asked Kai.

"Surprisingly, yes. The plumbing still needs work though," he replied.

Zane and Cole approached us with old pieces of furniture in their hands. "Hey, Macca, glad you're back," Cole greeted me, stepping outside to deposit the junk he had to the pile off the Bounty.

"Greetings, Macca," Zane said to me as he passed.

"What's up, Jay? Working on the button, I see," I said.

Jay looked up from the button's stand, a smudge of dirt on his cheek. "Yeah, it'll be done in an hour or two. I like your outfit, by the way. Very Kai-ish."

I laughed at his compliment. My outfit today was full of red to represent Kai: red fitted hat, red headphones, red sock-gloves, a red tank top, and red sneakers. I chose to wear camouflage baggy jeans just to add emphasis.

As Kai went up to the pile of junk where Cole and Zane got their pieces of furniture, I grabbed a broom and began sweeping up a good portion of dirt and dust from the floor. Jay soon stood up and left the room only for a minute before he returned with a ladder. I curiously watched him set it up and then climb up to a projector that pointed to the radar. He opened it up and connected wires in it with tweezers.

The other three kept coming back until all the furniture was almost completely gone. I quietly sang to myself.

I was suddenly cut off when Kai said, "Sure got a lot of _junk_ piling up. If only there was a place where we could get _rid_ of it." From the way he spoke, I knew he was trying to get Jay's attention.

"If you don't mind, I'm trying to focus," Jay replied without looking down.

Cole picked up a cell phone and pretended to talk to somebody through it. "Hi, Mom and Dad. Of course, I'd _love_ to visit! What kind of son would I be if I didn't want–"

"Oh, I know what you're trying to do," Jay said, stepping down the ladder. "Okay, look, I might have promised to visit my parents, but there's a lot of stuff on my plate. I need to finish the rest of the plumbing today and change out the light bulbs below deck."

From the corner of my eye, Nya stepped into the room. Jay looked and wiped the dirt from his cheek. "Hi, Nya," he gingerly said.

"You going to visit your parents today?" she asked.

"S-sure am! I was going to leave in an hour or two."

"Great! Can't wait to go." She picked up something from the table beside him and walked back to the door. "Hey, Macca. It's good to see you again." she said to me.

"Hi!" I cheerfully replied. When I looked back at Jay, the other three ninjas were glaring at him for lying to them.

"What?" he said. "So my plate's not _that_ full. I can just finish the plumbing and stuff when we get back."

"Don't forget, Macca also has to go to work later," Kai reminded him.

"I know, I know," Jay assured him, taking down the ladder.

* * *

><p>Jay tugged his dragon's reins as he tried to get him to stand up, but Wisp refused to budge. "Ugh, come <em>on<em>, Wisp!" Jay irritably strained. "It'll just be a quick visit. In and out, nothing more."

Sensei Wu appeared from the side of Wisp and confronted Jay. "Hmm, it is as I suspected," he said to his student. "The dragons are molting; they're shedding their scales."

"What does that mean?"

"Every adolescent dragon goes through a transformation before it becomes an adult. We must allow them to migrate east, to the Spirit Coves, for their transformation to complete."

"Will we ever see them again?"

"It is hard to say, but we need to allow them to follow their path."

I walked with the others to their dragons. When we neared Jay and Sensei Wu, I saw that Jay seemed distraught. "Jay, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"Our dragons are molting, we have to let them migrate east. I-I'll never see Wisp again…" he explained.

"Wait, Rocky's going east?" Cole despairingly asked Sensei Wu.

"I am sorry, Cole, but yes," Sensei Wu said.

Cole went up to Rocky and pressed the side of his face against his snout. "Say it isn't so, Rocky," he said to his pet.

Kai and Nya went up to Flame to say their goodbyes. I followed Zane to the very last arch where Shard was, sleeping. Shard lifted his head as Zane approached him. A saddened feeling welled up inside me when Zane whispered to his pet. I even went up and stroked the great beast's snout. Shard leaned his head into my belly and delicately sniffed me. "I'm going to miss you…" I said. I stepped back after giving Shard a kiss to let Zane take off his reins and saddle. The dragon heaved himself out from under the arch and rested his chin on Zane's forehead. Zane reached up and padded his pet's jaw with tender affection.

"Farewell, Shard," he solemnly said. "You were a great friend. I'll never forget all you have done for me." Zane guided Shard away from the arch. Shard flapped his wings and gracefully flew in the direction of the sun. The other dragons immediately followed.

Zane stood silently and watched his beloved pet leave him forever. I couldn't relate to the anguish he was feeling, but I knew this was probably one of the hardest things he has ever had to do.

He looked away with his head down, and I could see thick tears falling from his closed eyes.

* * *

><p>The heat from the sun beat down on all of us. We have been walking alongside a road through the Sea of Sand for what seemed like an eternity. Cole had been gazing at the sun the whole time, looking for a glimpse of Rocky, but I knew the dragons weren't coming back.<p>

Sensei Wu played a soothing tune through an ancient wooden flute to pass the time. I heard Jay sigh. "Of all the days to lose our ride," he mumbled.

Zane, who was walking beside me, glanced down at me and saw I had my head down. "Have you ever lost something that meant much to you?" he asked me.

"I wouldn't say _lost _something," I replied, "but I guess I could say I can't find my origins. I never knew my parents." I looked at Zane and met his gaze. Was that a gleam of compassion in his eyes?

Before I could make out his thoughts, he quickened his pace to catch up with Sensei Wu. "That flute, you've never told us why it's so special," he said.

Sensei Wu stopping playing the tune. "Long ago there were many flutes, created to combat the powers of the Serpentine and drive them underground, but over time, Ninjago's forgotten of its ancestors' wisdom. And now _this_ is the only one," he said. He stopped for a moment and played the tune in Jay's ear as he was about to walk by.

Jay stopped in surprise, but then continued onward. "I get the lesson," he said. "Respect your elders or I'll suffer the consequences. _Boy_, you guys are laying it on thick!"

Sensei Wu chuckled. "Perhaps you are only hearing what you need to hear," he told Jay.

Nobody really noticed me slowing down after a few minutes. It was so hot that it felt like my body couldn't walk anymore. Cole eventually looked back at me and stopped. "Here," he said. "Climb on."

I hauled myself onto his back and let him carry me. It felt nice to give my legs a break. Jay unexpectedly halted in front of a junkyard. The sign above the entrance said Ed & Edna's Scrap N Junk with spontaneous colored lights. Nya approached Jay. "What is it?" she inquired.

"It's quiet," he suspiciously replied. "My family's _never_ quiet." Jay suddenly pulled his mask over his face and ran into the junkyard. Cole put me down and did the same along with Zane and Kai.

We all stopped in the center of the junkyard. Heaps of car parts and scrap metal surrounded us. I saw an old trailer nearby, assuming that was where Ed and Edna lived. Muffled screaming came from the inside of an old refrigerator. Jay quickly kicked the destroyed handle from the door. When the door swung open, it revealed Ed and Edna, tied up and with duct tape over their mouths. "What happened?!" Jay asked his parents. "Who did this?" He peeled the tape from Edna's mouth.

"Oh, ssweetheart, you came!" she said, fangs visible in her mouth. Jay did the same to Ed.

"You got to get out of here! You ssshouldn't have come, it'sss the _sssnakes_!" Ed hissed.

"The bite of the Fangpyre!" Sensei Wu said. "Once they sink their teeth, their venom can turn anything into a serpent. It's only a matter of time before the full transformation is complete." Zane and Cole untied Jay's parents and let them hop out. Ed turned around to reveal a lump poking out from the bottom of his overalls. A tail was beginning to form. Edna covered her mouth in horror.

Loud hissing from Serpentine sounded around us. Then a group of white-and-red snake-people appeared from behind a pile of used tires. Necklaces with fangs from previous confrontations with other Serpentine tribes hung from around their necks.

I didn't know what to think when a scaly green wrecking ball machine came rumbling up behind them. The actual wrecking ball had an evil face carved in it like a jack-o-lantern. Cole pulled out his golden scythe from behind his back. "Uh, is that wrecking ball staring at me?" he asked.

Suddenly, the wrecking ball machine swung its arm at us and released the wrecking ball. It was heading straight to me at high speeds. "Duck!" Jay shouted.

Before I could react, somebody grabbed me and threw me over the side. The wrecking ball smashed the ground where I was just standing, throwing sand up into the air. I looked up to find Zane on top of me as I laid on the ground. "Are you alright?" he anxiously asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, briskly nodding.

"Lloyd!" Sensei Wu shouted as Zane helped me up. Zane and I looked up to see Lloyd and Hannah perched on top of a mountain of old tires. The two-headed Fangpyre general stood beside them with a golden staff in its hand.

"_Hello_, Uncle," Lloyd said, trying to sound menacing. "Looks like we're not the _only_ family reunion today. I'm glad you brought the _Ninja_, Hannah and I could use help taking out the _trash_." Both Lloyd and Hannah let out cheesy evil laughs.

"If we want to turn your parents back, we need the anti-venom from the staff," Nya told Jay.

The wrecking ball machine swung its arm again.

"Second dose to the dirt!" Cole warned us. I leaped out of the way so that Zane didn't have to rescue me again. Another cloud of sand was thrown into the air. When it cleared, the group of Fangpyre we first saw were getting closer. More groups began coming out of their hiding places.

"Easier said than done, Sis. We're a bit outnumbered," Kai said to Nya.

"Nobody messes with _my_ family!" Jay yelled, running into the group of Fangpyre with his golden nunchuks in hand. I heard the loose end of the nunchuks strike a body every time Jay skillfully slung it.

Zane pulled out his golden shurikens. "Stay back with Sensei. Please don't get involved like you did last time, your safety is essential to us," Zane said to me. I watched him join into the battle along with Cole and Kai.

Though annoyed by not being allowed to help out, I obediently stepped back with Sensei Wu and Nya. Ed and Edna showed us a place to hide until the battle against the Fangpyre was over.

The battled raged on and on. I thought it was amazing how each ninja worked together to fight off the snakes. The wrecking ball machine continued to swing at the four ninjas to kill them, but they dodged it consistently. Just like back at Jamanakai Village, when the battle became overwhelming, the tornadoes returned, sucking up two to three Fangpyre at a time, then tossing them away.

Soon, Sensei Wu and Nya realized something was going terribly wrong. I couldn't tell what it was, until the only colors of the ninjas I could see were black, red, and white. Jay was gone.

Kai accidentally misread a fangpyre's attack and ended up on the ground. He used his golden sword to push the fangpyre away from him. He tried his hardest to curve the blade of the sword so he could cut open the fangpyre's throat.

Cole scored fatal wounds across the chests of Fangpyre with his scythe's blade. A surprise attack caused him to bend over and launch the fangpyre off his back. While he was vulnerable, three more Fangpyre jumped on him and attempted to sink their teeth into his shoulders.

Zane threw his shurikens to have them puncture a fangpyre in the face. He quickly retrieved them, then turned to kick a fangpyre in the chest. Without warning, another two-headed fangpyre pushed Zane off balance. It took a razorblade and slashed it at Zane's head.

"We have to help them!" I yelped.

Nya grabbed my wrist. "No, Macca, they can handle it," she insisted.

"No they can't!"

I ran behind Ed and Edna's trailer to find something to use as a weapon. There must've been something decently sharp to use since we were in a junkyard. Sadly, though, everything I pulled out was either broken or too dull to even puncture skin. I unexpectedly pulled out a short baseball bat some rubble. The aluminum it was made out of was covered in aged scratches from many years ago. I took the bat and swung it at a metal bucket. The loud crashing noise it made was music to my ears. "Better than nothing at all," I told myself.

I returned to Sensei Wu and Nya with the bat in hand. The battle had shifted while I was gone. Dead Fangpyre lay on the ground, but the ninjas were still being defeated.

Piercing rock n' roll music suddenly started playing. We looked to find Hannah holding up a scaly green boom box. Lloyd smirked at us as he tried to be cool. "Young nephew, must I _teach_ you whose side you should be on?!" Sensei Wu shouted over the music.

Lloyd reached and turned up the volume. "Sorry, Uncle! Can't hear you!" he childishly provoked. Hannah sniggered at Lloyd's remark.

_How dare he be so disrespectful to Sensei Wu? _I thought, anger twisting through my head. I snuck up behind the pile of tires Lloyd and Hannah were standing on with the bat firmly in my grip. I quietly climbed up till I was right behind Hannah. I snatched the boom box from her and shut off the music. "Sorry, you little brat-holes, but when Macca Soxx is around, you don't listen to this old garbage," I said. "You listen to dubstep, _and_ you _respect_ the elderly."

Lloyd and Hannah turned around to face me. "General, attack!" Lloyd commanded the Fangpyre general.

The general swung its golden staff at me. As I jumped backwards to dodge it, I saw a big red dot under the snake head design at the top of the staff.

_The anti-venom! _I grabbed the staff and tugged to take it. The general hissed at me and one of its heads struck down at my hand to bite it. Instinctively, I let go of the staff. My foot missed the tire I meant to step on behind me, and I toppled down the pile of tires. Feeling embarrassed and dazed, I stood up and staggered back to Sensei Wu and Nya.

Fear gripped me when I saw six Fangpyre surrounding the old man. Before I had time to fend off the snakes, Sensei Wu put the ancient flute to his lips and played the soothing tune. The Fangpyre stopped and covered their ears in pain.

Nya quickly jumped and kicked a fangpyre in the side of the head. Then, without looking back, she kicked another fangpyre in the stomach. The remaining Fangpyre launched themselves at her, but she was much smarter than they were. She punched one in the mouth. When it fell it the ground, she grabbed its legs and slung its body around her, hitting the other two Fangpyre and injuring them. I was impressed by her strength and clever thinking. "I don't know, Sensei, I think we make a pretty good duet," Nya said.

Sensei Wu lowered the flute and gazed warmly at her.

The wrecking ball machine smashed the ground again. Zane, Cole, and Kai all showed through the many moving bodies of Fangpyre around them. Jay was still gone. The worst feeling in the world swept through me. But as the wrecking ball rolled on the ground, a blue body clung to it. It was Jay!

The wrecking ball machine violently slung its arm away from the battle, sending the wrecking ball high into the atmosphere. Jay stood up against the harsh wind resistance and did a backflip off of it. He landed on the machine's cockpit, did a second backflip, gripping the roof, and kicked the fangpyre that was operating it. He scratched his head in confusion as he tried to figure out how to use the controls.

Zane and Kai fought off a fangpyre that was beating Cole. I couldn't see what happened after that, but the three of them ran away from the battle. Zane had blood spattered across his white mask. All the Fangpyre in the battle chased after them. The ground suddenly shook in repetitions like footsteps. The ninjas stopped. An enormous scaly green statue that was carrying nunchuks stomped from behind a pile of scrap metal. It gazed down at the ninjas and threw the loose end of the nunchuks at them.

Cole did a front flip to avoid the hit of the giant weapon. To my surprise, instead of fighting the living statue, they ran away from it and headed straight into the horde of red-and-white snakes. I knew I had to do something to help them out.

"Macca, don't!" Nya called as I dashed toward the snakes. I changed the music on the boom box to the most annoying dubstep song I knew because I needed something to lure the Fangpyre to me. A few Fangpyre turned their attention to me once I turned the volume on the boom box all the way up.

"Hey, snakes! Look! I'm a retarded piece of prey! Don't you want to bite me?"

A big chunk of the Fangpyre switched direction to me.

"Oh, shit," I said to myself. I held up the baseball bat.

"Macca! What are you doing?!" Kai's faint yell said over the dubstep.

I sprinted headlong into the Fangpyre. "Batter up, motherfuckers!" I shouted. I began slinging the bat all the around me, hitting fangpyre after fangpyre. There was a cringing "WACK!" every time the aluminum of the bat collided with the moist scales of the snakes.

Fangpyre started surrounding me, so I had to move in order for my plan to work. I did a quick backflip and then ran away. I heard them chasing me in hot pursuit.

While sprinting, I realized how out of shape I was when it came to being conditioned to run long distances without stopping.

_If only I had stuck with those soccer exercises after the season ended!_

My body felt heavy. I began slowing down. I tripped over something sticking out of the sand. The Fangpyre crashed into me like a tidal wave. Searing pain gripped the back of my neck. It felt like molten lava entered my veins. I was bit, and it was undeniably by multiple Fangpyre.

The burning pain petrified me, and I could do nothing but lay there. "Hold on, Macca!" Kai called.

I could barely hear him. I was too shocked to react to anything. The three ninjas threw themselves into the fray, stabbing and slicing the Fangpyre on top of me. Kai picked me up as soon as I was able to breathe. "They bit me," I panted in his ear.

Kai instantaneously left the battle and ran to Sensei Wu and Nya. "Macca's been bit!" he told them, setting me down in front of them.

Nya got down and saw the blood dripping from the back of my neck. "If the venom reaches her brain, it'll be impossible to cure her. We need the anti-venom _now_!" she said.

"Kai, return to your brothers and finish this," Sensei Wu instructed him.

"But what about Macca–" he started.

"We will take care of Macca. Go!"

Kai whipped around and pulled out his sword. His red tornado swallowed him and raced to the battle.

"I just wanted to help them," I whimpered, the venom coursing down my back.

"I know, and you did," Sensei Wu assured me. "What you did was dangerous but brave. Now, my students will pull through this in victory."

Zane, Kai, and Cole fought side by side, bringing many Fangpyre to their deaths. They turned around to find the statue slinging the loose end of its nunchuks at them. Cole held up his scythe and blocked the heavy blow.

Suddenly the wrecking ball machine swung its arm at the statue. The statue was propelled forward, where it busted when it hit the ground. Jay hopped out of the wrecking ball machine's cockpit to join the others. "What _was_ that thing?" Cole asked him.

"Probably the statue my dad was making to honor me," Jay replied, launching a lightning bolt at a fangpyre with his nunchuks.

Eventually, the Fangpyre realized there was nothing left to defeat the ninjas. One by one, they retreated from the battle by climbing over the walls of the junkyard. The ninjas stood in the middle of an empty battleground with dead bodies of Fangpyre all around them.

Lloyd and Hannah gazed down at the clearing. I gathered up strength to make myself stand up. "Where'd your fairytale ending go, Rapunzel? Huh? I don't see it anywhere!" I taunted, though I was weak.

Lloyd and Hannah scowled at me irritably. "Retreat!" Lloyd commanded. He and Hannah reverted around as a pattern of noises filled the air. A scaly green, snake resembling helicopter rose behind them. The Fangpyre general slithered onto a circular platform hanging under the helicopter after Lloyd and Hannah. Everything that the Fangpyre had bitten, including the boom box, exited the junkyard at the command. The helicopter flew away and led its army into the Sea of Sand.

"They're getting away with the staff!" Nya worriedly said.

Jay sighed. "Now would be a good time to have those dragons," he said.

Ed and Edna, who were looking more like reptiles than humans, approached Jay, worn out and tired. Ed placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "It'sss okay, ssson," he hissed.

"There is still a way," Sensei Wu said.

"How?" Jay asked.

"Part of reaching your _own_ full potential is understanding your _weapon's _potential: once it is in tuned with a focused heart, its secrets and powers will be unlocked."

"This is not the time to be cryptic!"

"He's saying our weapons are vehicles themselves," Zane explained.

"Don't tell me I have to ride this like a broomstick," Kai groaned, looking down at his sword.

"Jay, concentrate on unlocking your golden weapon. Let your heart guide you. Imagine you are taking flight," Sensei Wu told him.

Jay held up his nunchuks and closed his eyes. He spun the loose end of his weapon over his head. Lightning bolts shot out of the nunchuks. A transparent sphere surrounded him, making him rotate quickly inside it. A flash of light blinded us. Thunder cracked. When the light disappeared, a miniature blue jet hovered over the ground. Jay opened up the glass windshield that enclosed the cockpit. "Wow, did _I_ just do that?!" he excitedly asked himself.

Kai studied Jay's motions and concentrated on his sword. He waved it around a couple times, then glided his hand across the blade, revealing a line of flames. He tossed his sword into the air. A small mound of sand formed under feet. Rays of light and fireballs shot out from the mound. The fireballs burst and Kai was suddenly sitting on a big red-and-gold motorbike.

Zane stretched out his left hand and a white orb showed up on the spikes of his shuriken. He repeated the motion with the other shuriken. Chunks of ice grew in front of him. He did a front flip and mounted the ice as it spread out and created a structure. He gripped a handle and revved an engine. The ice exploded and exposed a white snowmobile.

Cole spun his scythe around like a flag and tossed it in the air. He did a front flip with his arms held out. The scythe mysteriously hung above his head as two streams of rock and dirt from the sand flew and intersected each other twice. The streams came down to Cole's feet, making a large mountain of sand under his feet. He did a second front flip when golden light filled the sky. When the light was gone, a massive black vehicle was beside Zane and Kai.

Jay's jet rose high into the air. Lightning bolts pulsed around him. Parts of the wings spread out, and the jet flew upwards, vanishing in the clouds. Cole drove out of the junkyard to follow him. "Kai, wait! Let me go with you!" I pleaded, running to his motorbike. But the red ninja wasn't paying attention. He drove after Cole and left me. The engine rumbled loudly and the tires threw up sand that concealed me. All of a sudden, I was pulled with so much force that it knocked the breath out of me. Wind blew past me as I was dragged out of the junkyard. I looked up and saw little ice crystals in an icy mist shooting over my head. I didn't know how it happened, but all I knew was that I was being dragged across the Sea of Sand by Zane's snowmobile. My jeans were caught in something that was in the back of his vehicle.

Panicking, I tried to call Zane's name to get his attention, but my voice was blocked out by too much noise. The stitches in my jeans began stretching out due to my bodyweight. I screamed and flailed my limbs in fright.

The helicopter continued to lead all the snake-bitten vehicles farther and farther away. Jay accidentally zoomed past it. "Wow! What the heck was _that_?" Hannah asked.

"Oops. Overshot that a little," Jay laughed, changing the direction of his jet back toward the helicopter. He looked through a targeting system to center himself with the helicopter. With a beep assuring him that his aim was perfect, he said, "Let's see what this baby can do." He pressed a button thinking something was going to come out of his jet and shoot down the helicopter, but instead, his windshield flew open. The occurrence startled him, and he let go of the steering wheel. The jet lost control. It rolled through the air and the fast moving air twisted it in all directions.

Lloyd and Hannah screamed as the helicopter didn't move over.

Jay tried to get his jet secure by grabbing the steering wheel and closing the cockpit back up. The jet weaved past the helicopter. The Fangpyre general covered its two heads. Lloyd and Hannah, who were holding each other desperately, both looked up in surprise. The Fangpyre General looked down at its empty hand.

"The ssstaff!" one of its heads hissed.

Jay had closed his eyes and held his hands out in front of him as he prepared for impact. He opened his eyes and saw Fangpyre staff laying across his lap. He quickly grabbed the steering wheel, made the windshield close, and made the jet fly straight again. "I got it? I got it!" Jay cheered. Abruptly after his happy merriment, his jet disappeared from under him, and he plummeted to the earth.

Meanwhile, I was still screaming my lungs out as Zane's snowmobile dragged me. Kai soon looked over at Zane and saw something red in the corner of his eye. "Zane!" he urgently yelled.

Zane glanced at Kai.

"Get Macca!"

Zane raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Kai pointed at the back of the snowmobile.

Zane looked behind him. His eyes widened in shock. He quickly leaned backwards and barely grasped my tank top with his fingertips. I was lifted and moved to the side of the snowmobile. Kai was looking at me wildly. My tank top began ripping. "Kai, help me!" I screeched at him.

A particular noise made me still. My tank top was about to give way. I screamed at the sensation of falling. Zane pulled me closer to him and set me down in his lap. He pressed the side of my head into his chest to lean against. I relaxed and suddenly felt very weak. Darkness compressed my vision.

My eyes flew open when I felt a jerk. I had slipped out of Zane's tender hold without knowing. Zane gripped the front of my tank top, nearly making my bra visible to the world. He looked at me with a mysterious glimmer in his blue eyes. When he finally pulled me back up into his lap, he wrapped his arm around my back. "Macca, whatever you do, do _not_ raise your heart rate," he said.

"What doesss my heart–" I began. I cut myself off as I realized I hissed like a snake. I held up my hands and saw that my fingers were covered in green scales. I touched my face and felt scales. I even felt a forked tongue hiss out of my mouth. "Oh my god! I'm a sssnake!" I screamed. My vision turned everything into an ugly yellow. The venom coursed through my body, making me feel like I was on fire. I became frantic. I exploded out of Zane's hold and scurried to the back of his snowmobile.

"Macca, no!" Zane pleaded. "Raising your heart rate will make the effects quicken!"

I ignored him and continued toward the back to feel the wind for comfort. The warm, unsatisfying wind from the hot desert sun made the pain worse. I turned and harshly wrapped my arms around Zane's neck. "Make me sssome iccce!" I commanded him. "I need iccce!" I tightened my grasp around his neck as I uncontrollably demanded from the white ninja.

"Macca…I can't breathe…" Zane wheezed.

"You're the Ninja of Iccce, aren't you? Make me iccce! I need it _now_!" I hissed loudly.

Kai yelled to Cole, "Jay's lost concentration! He's falling! We have to catch him!"

I tightened my grasp around Zane's neck even more. "Iccce, Zane! Iccce!" I hissed at him.

"Macca…let go…of me…" Zane wheezed. He swerved his snowmobile and it bumped into Kai's motorbike's back wheel. Kai's motorbike swerved inward and slammed into Cole's vehicle. All three vehicles became tangled up in each other, causing the three ninjas to lose concentration. With three flashes of light, the vehicles disappeared and sent us all soaring through the air. The golden weapons landed in the sand just the ninjas did. I screamed and landed awkwardly on Zane. I instantly rolled off of him.

"Oh my god, I'm ssso sssorry!" I worriedly hissed, unaware of pain in my elbow from the landing.

Zane sat on his knees and coughed. He looked up into the sky. "Jay must concentrate on his golden weapon or else he'll die," he said. I watched in horror as the blue ninja plummeted to the earth. There was no way he would to survive the landing. My chest tightened as Jay disappeared behind a sand dune. I could just imagine the gut-wrenching hit.

A flash of light beamed over the sand dune for an instant like the sun behind a cloud. Jay's jet whizzed overhead with an earsplitting roar. Another flash of light indicated that his jet transformed back into his nunchuks. He hurried over to us, the Fangpyre staff in hand. "Hey, what happened to you guys?" he asked us.

"How'd you get _that_?" Cole asked him, ignoring his question.

"It's hard to ex–"

The rest of Jay's sentence was drowned by a loud rumbling engine. Ed and Edna's old jalopy came to a jutting stop behind him, Nya in the driver's seat and Sensei Wu, Ed, and Edna in the big red seat behind her.

Up ahead, the Fangpyre vehicles turned around and headed straight for us. The ninjas picked up their weapons and held them up. "Argh! Why isn't it working?" Kai asked.

"Your weapon is merely an extension of your mind. If your mind is immobile, so is your weapon," Sensei Wu said.

"Get in, boysss!" Ed hissed.

I hopped in the car beside Ed, who was virtually a snake at this point as well as his wife. The others climbed on behind us. "We have to get back to headquarters!" Jay said.

Nya made a sharp right turn, away from the Fangpyre. She headed for the Bounty as fast as the old car would go. At first, I felt so much energy bursting through my body, but then I found myself leaning backwards and falling asleep. Nya looked in the side view mirror and saw me. "Ed, shake Macca awake," she said.

I felt a little tap on my shoulder and lifted my head up straight. "Macca, you need to stay awake," Nya told me.

"But I'm ssso sssleepy."

"I know you are, but you're transforming faster than Ed and Edna because you were bitten more than them. Sleeping will only quicken it."

"Wait," Zane said, "I thought it was a _rise_ in heart rate that quickened the metamorphosis."

"No, that actually helps it. Nobody knows why, but I think that if the venom courses fast enough, it just dissolves into the blood cells. The venom will never truly go away, though, the person has to live with it for the rest of their life unless given the anti-venom."

"Can't we just give her the anti-venom now?" Jay asked.

"There's a certain method and certain tools that I need to extract it from the staff. It'll have to wait till we reach the Bounty."

My head slowly leaned forward and my eyes closed. Pain in my mouth woke me up. I felt fangs get longer and my upper lip splitting in the middle. Somebody picked me up and cradled me comfortably. Zane took off my fitted hat and stroked my hair. "You're going to be fine. I promise," he said.

I exhaled and fluttered my eyelids shut. Zane gave me a shake. "Please, Macca, it's _imperative_ you keep your eyes open. I don't think you want to change your name to 'DJ Medusa' when you return to Ninjago City, do you?"

I jerked my head and hissed at him, "I know there'sss a DJ Sssnake in Ninjago Cccity, but I don't want to be hisss wife!" I spat. I continued ranting to Zane, unaware that he had provoked me on purpose.

I was about finished hissing in the white ninja's face when the car stopped. Everybody jumped out and quickly boarded the Bounty. Nya rushed below deck with Ed and Edna to prepare the anti-venom. As Zane carried me up to the bridge, the sleepiness set back in. I dozed off with my head in the crook of his arm. "Man the stations! Everyone!" Jay commanded.

Kai went to the pushed out window in front of the steering wheel and looked where the car was. Jay went to the button and checked the radar. Zane laid me down on the floor. He nudged me when I snored. I stared up at him, annoyed. "If you wake me up _one_ more time…" I said with my finger in his face.

"Macca, you have to stay awake. Please," he said. He leaned down to my ear and whispered, "I can't let you turn…I couldn't bear losing you like I lost Shard. Never."

I knew Zane was talking to me, but frankly, I wasn't listening. I could feel the venom coursing through my jugulars. The burning pain returned.

"Macca, tell me a story," Zane said.

"No!"

"Please, Macca, I understand you're tired and cranky but I need you to stay awake for only four-point-forty-nine more minutes. The anti-venom is coming."

I glared at Zane with my beady black eyes. "One ssstory, then I'm sssleeping, whether you like it or not!" I hissed.

"Thank you."

I began telling Zane a story from my days of playing high school soccer. My eyes kept trying to close the whole time, but Zane just smiled and listened to my story.

"Jay, we better hurry!" Kai warned, the Fangpyre vehicles appearing over the last sand dune.

"I've been waiting for this moment," Jay said to himself. He pressed the button.

Silence. There was nothing but silence.

Cole and Sensei Wu looked around and waited for something to happen. But nothing moved or made a single sound.

"They're gaining on us!" Kai warned.

Nya burst through the door with Ed and Edna right behind her, both of them no longer poisoned with the venom and back to normal human beings. "Where's Macca?" Nya asked. She quickly came to my side with a cup in her hand. "Macca, this is going to taste very bad, but you need to drink it," she said. Without hesitation, she pressed the cup to my lips and forced me to drink the anti-venom.

I cringed at the awful taste, and coughed after I drank all of it. Zane made me sit up and patted my back. "Good, you're going to be fine," he assured me.

I couldn't respond, I just nuzzled the side of my side head against Zane's chest and drifted into a much needed peaceful sleep. Zane went to wake me up again, but Nya stopped him. "Let her sleep, she's had a long day," she said, picking up the Fangpyre staff.

Zane nodded and stood up with me in his arms. He rubbed his finger against my cheek as he admired my scales returning to dark-toned flesh.

"Ugh! I don't get what's wrong! I spent _forever_ on this! It's supposed to work!" Jay complained.

"Uh, son, maybe I can help," Ed said, coming up to Jay's side.

Jay gasped at the sight of his healthy father. "Dad! Y-you're okay!" he gleefully said.

"You darn tootin'!" Ed replied. He kneeled down and opened a hatch in the button's stand. He pulled out wires and began pulling them apart and reattaching them to others. When he was finished, he looked at Jay and said, "That should do it. Now try it."

Jay pressed the button again. After another moment of silence, the main sail outside spread like eagle's wings. An unusual rumbling sounded. Then something even more unusual happened: the Bounty moved. The desert vanished. All there was around the Bounty was open sky. Machines on the bottom of the ship shifted into position. Kai took hold of the steering wheel. "It's working!" he said. The Bounty rose high into the sky. Zane leaned against a table to be sure he didn't drop me.

As Kai tried to find out how to fly away, he made the Bounty tremble. Nya about lost her balance. She dropped the Fangpyre staff and it fell through the door. It more than likely landed near the Fangpyre down below.

Kai finally found the right switch, and the Bounty blasted away from the Fangpyre without a hurry.

* * *

><p>I had woken up to beautiful sunset rays hitting my face. I remember sitting up in the bottom bunk of a bed and feeling odd. I felt like I was moving. But I was glad to look down and see no scales on my fingers.<p>

Kai soon walked in with a plate in his hand. "Oh, hey, I didn't think you'd be awake yet," he said.

"Why do I feel so weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, why are the clouds outside moving so fast?"

"We're flying."

"We're _what_?"

Kai laughed. "Jay designed the Bounty with rocket boosters. Now that our dragons aren't here to take us to the fighting, we can just fly our headquarters there instead."

"Huh, wow." I gazed at the plate. "What's that?"

"Oh, uh, I brought you a sandwich. I thought you'd be hungry." Kai handed me the plate.

"So, what've I missed while I was…well, you know."

"Zane brought you down here so you could sleep. You were screaming in his face and everything before you fell asleep, though."

"I was? I don't remember that." I tried to think of him looking down at me as I cursed at him, but then I began thinking about something else.

"Macca? Are you okay?" Kai asked.

I realized I was just sitting there silently. "Yeah, I'm fine. I feel like I've forgotten something–" It suddenly came to me. I put my hand over my mouth and gasped.

"Forgotten what?"

"I had a concert tonight! And I completely forgot about it! Wait, what time is it?"

"Um, seven-thirty?"

"Oh my god, I'm so fired. I'm done for! I blew it!" I didn't know what to do after that point. I knew my boss was going to ask me to collect all my things and leave when I came to work tomorrow.

Now I sat at the bottom of one of the flight of stairs with a pad and paper in hand. Everything was beautiful. The wind blew through my hair. Sunlight filtered through clouds of gold. I looked up and could see the stars overhead. This scene was perfect for song lyrics, which was what I was writing down.

Somebody began walking down the stairs. Zane sat down next to me. "Kai says I screamed in your face today," I said.

"Yes, but it's nothing to worry about. All that matters is that you are safe from the venom's permanent effects."

"So…I guess you guys won't really be needing those dragons anymore, huh?" I said, changing the subject.

"Well, the Bounty _is_ an improvement. But our dragons were more than just magnificent creatures. They always were. Before the Serpentine were unleashed, the others and I fought against the Skeleton Army. We wouldn't have defeated Lord Garmadon if it hadn't been for our dragons and their special abilities. After it was all over, I thought Shard would be with me until the very end."

"The very end of what?"

"My life, I suppose."

I felt a pang of pity for the white ninja. The way he talked about his former pet made it sound like Shard was his only friend. I didn't know why.

_Was he?_ I wondered. Zane had the other ninjas and Sensei Wu and Nya by his side, but I haven't been around long enough to see how they treated him. The food fight from yesterday showed how disrespectful we were toward Zane's hard work of cooking dinner for us. Nobody understood his meaning for wearing the apron. Was little things like that what Zane experienced every day? Being around people who made him feel different?

"The words you have written have a rhythm. Are you writing a poem?" Zane said.

"Uh, sort of. They're song lyrics…about all _this_." I gestured toward our surroundings.

"I concur, the sights are breathtaking this evening. I only wish I could see this every evening. The sunset, the clouds…you."

I paused.

"Your beauty always gives the sun a reason to shine every day, Macca. Nothing can ever change that."

I felt my cheeks get hot. Zane's words caught me off guard. I felt like I was trapped in a corner with nowhere to go, like a mouse escaping from a cat.

"Uh…I-I'm uncomfortable," I stammered. After a moment's awkward pause, I about glanced at him, but I heard the door to the bridge open and close. Zane left.

I tried to just continue writing about the situation and the scenery, but my mind kept going back to Zane. His words rang in my ears.

_Your beauty always gives the sun a reason to shine every day._

I shuddered at a chilly wind. An echo in the wind filled my ears.

_You're the chosen one, my dear. It is your destiny._

I lifted my head and gazed around the upper deck. The mysterious voice belonged to a woman. It was so vivid that I thought Nya was nearby, playing with me. "Very funny, Nya," I said. "First Zane, now you?" I stood up and looked down the gloomy hallway below deck.

Not a single sound.

The Bounty suddenly began to slowly descend. I looked over the edge and saw the dark sand of the Badlands, my Ferrari parked and quiet. Everybody came out of the bridge to say goodbye to me. Kai, unsurprisingly, was in front, but Zane wasn't with them. The Bounty landed near my car with a small thud.

"Will we ever see you again?" Kai asked me.

"Kai, I'm a celebrity, and you guys now live on a _flying_ pirate ship. Of course we're going to see each other again." I jumped and threw my arms around Kai's neck. Before I released him, I planted a kiss on his lips.

"Dang, wish I had a celebrity girlfriend," Jay sarcastically joked.

"I'm not his girlfriend," I said. "I just think there's no point in meeting your celebrity crush if you don't get a _kiss_ from them." I let go of Kai. "Oh wait, don't move, guys, I want to show you all something." I ran up to my Ferrari and unlocked it. When I turned on the ignition, the engine purred and the headlights turned on. I took hold of the top of the car and the car door. With a big heave, I lifted my legs off the ground and held them up above my head.

Everybody cheered and clapped at my unexpected stunt.

"Look, Sensei Wu! I can be a ninja, too!" I joked.

Sensei Wu scratched his beard in thought. I let myself back down and hopped in the driver's seat. I turned on my dubstep at a high volume. "Bye, guys! See you next time!" I shouted. I drove around the Bounty one time, drifting and throwing up sand, and then headed back toward the lone highway.

* * *

><p>==Hey guys! Yes, this was a VERY long chapter, but I really enjoyed writing it. This will probably be one of the longest chapters of this fan fiction, but the next chapter is short. So you guys get a break from long chapters. I think Chapter 5 is a decent size...I'm pretty sure it is. I also really liked writing that one, too.<p>

Since I've already published Chapter 2 this morning, I don't really have much to say. If I forgot to say something, I'll just talk about it at the end of the next chapter. I will say, though, that the song Macca was writing at the end was a real song I like. If you want to look it up, you can. It's Cazzette - "Beam Me Up". I was just listening to it one day and I thought, "I can use this, kind of." It's not one of my favorite songs of all time, but I like it.

And yes, I made a DJ Snake reference in this chapter. Hahaha. I just couldn't resist. I guess my mind just thought, "Serpentine...Serpentine...Medusa...DJ Snake!" I like his songs, but he's not my absolute favorite. My favorite would probably be Yellow Claw, Diplo, Showtek, and Krewella.

I'm getting off topic here, but here's something else. I've been playing a certain song on repeat almost the whole time I've been typing this. It's old but I really like it. Look up DJ Shadow - "Organ Donor" on YouTube and listen to it. I think it has an interesting beat. I bet you can tell I'm a dubstep fanatic.

Okay, I'll leave another message at the end of the next chapter! See ya, homies!==


	5. Chapter 4: The Interrogation

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 4:**

**The Interrogation**

_My palms sweated. I could already _see Mr. Matthews's glower just waiting for me inside the club. I opened one of the glass doors and hurried to my studio.

_Maybe if I start on this song, Mr. Matthews will give me another chance, _I thought. I tiptoed down the hallway, past the main party room, and found the door to my studio. The lock was a numbered code; when I punched in the correct code the lock will unlock. I quickly punched in the memorized numbers in order and heard the lock unwind. I grabbed the doorknob, twisted it–

"Macca."

I turned my head and saw an older man, his suit clean and professional-looking, staring me down. The frown and furious look in his eyes made me flinch. "Y-yes, Mr. Matthews?" I replied.

"Come to my office," he said with a finger gesturing me to him. "We need to talk."

"Yes, sir." I kept my gaze fixed on the ground as I walked to the office. He held the door open for me to let me in first. A single wooded desk was set near the back of the room. Two seats were placed in front of the desk. Golden records lined the walls. It was rare when I came into this room, but this was the first time Mr. Matthews has actually forced me to be in here.

"Take a seat, Macca," he grimly said, going to sit at his desk. I sat down in one of the seats, my heart thumping in nervousness. Goosebumps crawled up the exposed parts of my arms. When Mr. Matthews sat down, he leaned back in his big fancy office chair and just looked at me. We both sat there in silence for what felt like a decade, not breaking eye contact. I knew he was thinking of how to start this dreadful conversation. "Macca," he finally said, "do you know why I have these golden records displayed on the walls of my office?"

I gulped. "B-because…you worked hard to get them?" I answered.

"Well, that's part of it. But, the real reason I have them displayed is because it reminds me what I _accomplished_ by working so hard in my past career."

I nodded.

"Do you know why I ask you that?"

"Not really, sir."

"I ask you that because of your lack of discipline towards your job lately. You're already a young superstar, but this is just the beginning. There's much more in store for you in your future, and that includes your job here. So tell me, where were you yesterday? Goofing off with your two friends?"

"No, no, Mr. Matthews, you don't understand–"

"I'm not finished."

I slunk back down in my seat.

"Listen, Macca, you haven't been eighteen for a long time, I know that. But if you're going off with some new boyfriend and having sex with him because you don't want to go to work, then _that's unacceptable_!"

My body went hot when he slammed his fist on his desk. His anger startled me. Mr. Matthews has been my boss for years, and he knew my morals by heart, but he's never accused me of doing such things before.

"Do you know how much money we lost last night?"

I shook my head.

"thousands of dollars, Macca. _Thousands_! And it's all because _you_ neglected your responsibilities. The crowd was huge. They wanted music. They wanted _you_. But all they got was a lousy night at the Orb of Glass Dance Club. I'm _very_ disappointed in you, Macca. I expected _more_ from you."

I looked down as my eyes began watering. I felt like a child again, being griped and yelled at by my foster father. A tear escaped my eye before I could stop it.

"I'm cutting your paycheck in half. I know I've threatened it before, but here it is. Unless you can prove to me that you're responsible enough to handle your work properly, it stays like this."

I nodded, sniffling.

"Now, get out of my sight."

I got up and left the office. I wanted to run away, but my feet led me to my studio. I opened the door. Everything was just the way I had left it about a week ago. I walked past my turntables and mixing board to get to my computer desk. Once I sat down, I broke down in silent tears.

_I wasn't out screwing some random guy, I was helping the ninjas with the Serpentine! It's not fair! _I thought, frustrated. I clenched my fists. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to scream. But a particular person came to my mind, and I ended up calling him.

"Hello!" a bubbly voice said from the other line on my cell phone.

I forced a smile. "Hey, Trent," I replied. "You busy?"

"Nah, just brushing Geno. What's up, Mac-Attack?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Okay, about what?"

"I need a bit cheering up right now."

"Boy problems?"

"No. Wait, did you really just say that?"

"You're the one who said you needed cheering up, Mac, so that's what I'm trying to do," he laughed.

"Oh, well, you're doing a good job so far."

"Tell Trent why little Macca is sad."

"It's hard to explain, but basically I was supposed to be at work yesterday and I got, um, _really_ distracted by, uh…things."

"Ooh! Kinky things?"

I didn't reply.

"Oh, come on, Mac. Can't take a joke? I know you're saving yourself for marriage, which is something I wish Linus would change about his life. It makes me sick to think he dates a girl for two weeks and then they're suddenly in bed together."

"Ew, Trent, _thanks_ for the image!"

"Sorry, sorry. So what exactly 'distracted you'?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was with those masked men that saved us back in Jamanakai Village?"

"Uh…I don't know. Were you?"

"Yes, I was, and they fought more Serpentine, but they were from another tribe."

"Cool?"

"I got bit, was almost turned into a snake, and then given an anti-venom that made me fall asleep. It was already too late when I woke up."

"Wow that sucks."

"Yeah, and I just got yelled at by my boss. My paycheck is officially half of what it should be."

"Well, I don't blame Mr. Matthews for punishing you."

"I know, I don't either, but I guess I'm just mad at myself for being so stupid."

"You're not stupid, Macca. You just messed up. All you can do is work harder to clean up the mess."

"Okay."

"You want to come over to my place tomorrow?"

"Sure, what time?"

"I don't care. Linus is coming, too. We're going to have some fun before preparing our routine for the next breakdance battle coming up."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, my sister was getting rid of her old sofa. It's at my place now, and I get to do whatever I want with it. So guess what I want to do?"

"Make it explode?"

"Not exactly. We're going to tie it to the back of my pickup truck and sling it around till it breaks apart!"

I began laughing. "I want to ride it!"

"I don't think that's a great idea."

"It'll be fun though!"

I suddenly heard Trent shouting, "Geno! Get off that counter!" A little thump in the background told me Geno jumped down. "Stupid cat," Trent muttered.

"Alright Trent, I got to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you."

I hung up and turned on my computer. I knew that if I wanted to get my paycheck back, I had to start with the lyrics I wrote yesterday on the Bounty.

* * *

><p>==Oh my gosh, guys, I am SOOOO sorry about the error. I was having the error with Chapter 5 yesterday, and it was almost 10:00 at night, so I went ahead and just waited until today to fix it. Well, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I ended up sending a private message to a helpful friend of mine and she told me how to fix. Thank you SO much Rinakko!<p>

I was FaceTiming my friend Hannah Chicken Butt this afternoon and told her how weird it was that Chapter 4 had more views than Chapter 3. Well, I opened Chapter 4 and saw the error and immediately said, "OH NO!" Then I did it all over again and am publishing it again. I've already checked, it's fixed now. Again I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry that happened. I guess Chapter 4 had more views than Chapter 3 because the same people were coming back to see if it was fixed. Well, it's fixed now. So enjoy! See ya, homies!==


	6. Chapter 5: A Ninja's Secret

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 5:**

**A Ninja's Secret**

_I was so bored. There was_ nothing to do today. So far all I've been doing all day is laying around and playing video games or watching television. Although I had the desire to go out with Linus and Trent to prepare for our next breakdance battle, I couldn't. I knew I should've listened to Trent about not riding on that couch while it was being dragged behind the truck because when I did, the couch fell apart. Now I'm injured and incapable of breakdancing for a few days.

I sat on my couch with a bag of chips in hand. This was literally the third hour-long episode of a reality TV show that I've watched. The urge to just get up and run around Ninjago City was killing me.

Suddenly I heard knocking. I turned off the television and went to my door. When I opened it, nobody was there. This confused me. I knew there were no children that lived on this floor of the apartment complex, and teenagers have learned not to come to my home and prank me like this. I closed the door and went to go put away the bag of chips.

The knocking sounded a second time. "Alright, this better stop or else I'm going all out Macca Soxx on whoever thinks they're being funny," I mumbled to myself. I returned to the door and opened it again.

Nobody there. I closed it and waited.

More knocking. I gripped the door handle and opened it once more.

Still nobody. Annoyance built up inside of me. But then I realized the knocking wasn't coming from outside my apartment, but from inside of it. I looked at one of my windows and the first thing that caught my eye was a red mask peering around the side of the outside wall. It disappeared after that. "Kai?" I said, closing the door. It'd been two weeks since I'd last seen the ninjas. The thought of seeing them again made me eager. I jogged up to the window and slid it open. "Kai, I know I saw you," I said.

"Hey, Macca!" Kai's voice greeted me.

I looked to the side and found Kai clinging to the side of the building. "How the heck do you know where I live?"

"Come on, Macca, he's Kai. There's always going to be something Kai knows that nobody else knows," another voice said above my head.

I looked up and saw Cole somehow hanging upside down, his mask close to my face. "Oh, hey, Cole. What's up?"

"Apparently Cole is," another voice said.

I looked to the other side and saw Jay, his eyes bright and energetic like they were the last time I saw him. "Jay!" I excitedly said. I looked down to see if Zane was below the window, but he wasn't. "Where's Zane?" I asked.

"He's up in the bridge, waiting to pull us up," Cole explained.

"You're leaving already?"

"Well, we've finished training for the day, and there's no Serpentine action going on, so we were all wondering if you wanted to come and hang out," Jay said.

"Sure, I'll come. My _boredom_ needs to be lifted."

Cole lowered himself more and wrapped an arm around my waist. He lifted me up, making me laugh, and flipped me right side up just as he did himself. I heard the window shut below me.

Cole carried me to the top of the apartment complex on his back, Kai and Jay close behind. The Bounty hovered high above us, and its anchor was barely touching the roof. I was let down after Cole stepped onto the roof. I went up to the anchor and touched the metal spikes. Cole jumped on and grabbed the chain with one hand, so I did the same. Once we were all on, the anchor began retracting up to the great ship. It was a slow ride, but nothing monotonous.

I thought it was interesting seeing the rocket boosters blasting out extreme heat from under the Bounty. There were two large ones in the back and two smaller ones in the front. I told Jay he did great job designing it all.

When the anchor finally reached the Bounty, Kai climbed to the upper deck. He pulled me up carefully and then helped Jay up. "So what do you guys want to do today?" I asked them.

"There isn't really much other than video games or watching stuff up in the

bridge," Kai said. "We'd use the bridge, but Zane won't let anyone in. He says he's 'conducting research.'"

"Well maybe it's time he came down and had some fun with us while I'm here!"

"You can try persuading him, but still, he's Zane. He can be a bit unpredictable at times," Cole said.

"I'll take my chances. Get the video games ready, I'll be down in a jiff."

I hurried up the stairs after they agreed. I walked around to the side of the bridge and looked through the pattern in the little window. The bridge was darker than it usually is, but a blue glow was emitting off to the side. I quietly opened the door and slipped in. I was about to say something to Zane, but I stopped myself. The white ninja was watching a soccer game on the big screen.

"Corner kick for the Lady Mustangs!" a commentator announced from the screen. I immediately paused. The Lady Mustangs was my high school girls' soccer team. Trying not to scare Zane, I snuck up behind him to see what exactly he was watching. Women in red jerseys scattered the grassy field along with women in white jerseys. It was the Lady Mustangs versus the Lady Raiders game in my junior year of high school.

The soccer ball soared through the air in a beautiful arch. I knew that kick by heart. _Mya, _I thought. Mya had been a grade above me. She played as a mid-forward and always took the foul kicks and corner kicks for our team. She had the most perfect shots ever.

The ball landed in between the two teams. A Lady Mustang player raced over and booted it into the net after a Lady Raider failed to kick it in the opposite direction. Everybody in the stands cheered as both teams returned to their original positions and the goalkeeper retrieved the ball from the goal. Many of the Lady Mustangs players went up to their teammate and gave her a high-five.

_Taylor. _Taylor was our main forward player. She had the leg speed to outrun any player that crossed her path. She was the one who always scored for our team.

Once the ball was back in play, both teams upped the pace of the game. The Lady Mustangs lost possession of the ball. The Lady Raiders got the ball to our side of the field. That was until a Lady Mustang player came out of nowhere and punted the ball straight to the other side of the field.

_Bri! _Bri played as our right defensive player. Although she wasn't as petite as some of the other girls, she still had major value on our team. We called her "The Tank" because she would accidentally knock over players when she went for the ball.

The ball went to possession of a tall, dark skinned Lady Mustang player. She dribbled the ball up the field, but a Lady Raider player came and took the ball from her. The Lady Mustang player whipped back around, her arms flailing, and pursued the player to get the ball back. Watching her run brought back an old memory of mine.

I remember being on the bench in a game my freshman year of high school and watching her run after the ball over and over again. Our soccer coach ended up saying something to her after she fell for a simple trick yet again. "Daija! You can't get the ball if you keep running around like a…a _chicken_!" he had said.

All of us on the bench laughed at the comment.

_Ah, Daija. _Daija was a second-string forward. When a forward couldn't get the ball past the other team's defensive line, our coach always had our secret weapon ready. Daija couldn't score, but she could bulldoze anybody who tried to stop her from going past them.

Daija chased after the player as fast as she could, but the ball got passed to the middle of the field. A blonde Lady Mustang player, Allyson, tried to take the ball away, but tripped over the other player's feet. I watched the ball get chipped into the air and toward the goalkeeper. The Lady Mustang goalkeeper timed her jump just right. She jumped up and snagged the ball from the air. Her curly brown hair swayed behind her.

_Wait a second, that's me! _I jogged up the top of the box with the ball in hand. I yelled, "Karis!" and rolled the ball to the left defender. She was wide open. Karis took the ball and turned around with it. A Lady Raider player came charging up, and before Karis had time to pass the ball up, they collided. The Lady Raider player took the ball from her and dribbled it into the box. I got down in my goalkeeper stance, preparing for the shot.

A Lady Mustang mid-field player, Caitlin, came running up just the opposing player went to shoot the ball. She slide tackled the player, making her fall. The referee blew his whistle as he ran up to Caitlin, who was getting up. Caitlin threw her arms up while complaining as he fouled her. I remember how Caitlin was always being fouled on slide tackles, even though they were a legal move in soccer.

"Penalty kick for the Lady Raiders!" the commentator announced.

The crowd complained towards the referee's call. The referee placed the soccer ball on the penalty mark – a white dot – which was a few feet in front of the goal. I had to back up onto the line behind me and get in position. There was only one step that was allowed to take for the goalkeeper, and all I could do was guess which way the ball would go and try my best to keep the ball out of the net.

The referee blew his whistle once everything was in place and I was ready. The Lady Raider player kicked the ball at me. It skidded across the ground rapidly. I dove for the ball and deflected it off to the side. I could hear the ball smack against my gloves, and that throbbing pain in my hands returned to me as if it just happened in the present. "Incredible!" Zane said, startling me. "Bridge, find more about Macca Soxx."

The screen suddenly stopped playing the video and showed a buffering symbol. Many pictures of me replaced the video. They were magazine covers, photos of me on the red carpet, and even pictures of me during concerts. Zane scrolled through picture after picture as if he were looking for something. I couldn't figure out what, though. "Bridge, what is the definition of a DJ?" Zane continued.

The bridge began to speak. "DJ: the abbreviation of 'disk jockey,' is a person who mixes recorded music for an audience. The title 'DJ' is also commonly used by DJs in front of their real name or adopted pseudonyms as a title to donate their profession and the music they play. The most common example is DJ Macca Soxx."

"Bridge, is Macca Soxx currently in a romantic relationship?"

"Macca Soxx claimed, 'I'm perfectly happy with the way my life is right now. I enjoy being independent,' in a magazine three months ago."

Zane sighed, but I couldn't tell if he was disappointed. He made the pictures of me return. "Macca, ever since Jamanakai Village, I've been feeling something that I've never felt before," he said.

For a moment, I thought he was actually talking to me. I wasn't thinking about his sixth sense when I came in here. But he sounded like he was just talking to himself so I kept quiet.

"I cannot stop feeling as if I'm obsessed with you. Your presence makes my heart flutter. You have the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen, your smile makes me want to shatter into a thousand pieces…I-I've listened to you sing in some of your songs. You're very talented, and I think every time I listen to your voice, I feel more and more warm inside." He paused. "I apologize for what I said that evening. I didn't mean for my words to scare you, but it's true. The way the sun makes your skin radiate, I feel like it sent you into the world itself just so you could share your life with me. I feel this connection, like…like we're compatible. That's all I can think about. You might hear something similar on a regular basis from others, but I'm speaking from my heart. I just wish I had the strength to say these things to _you_ right now, but even I know that'll be unviable. Why would a woman as lovely as you be with someone as different as me?"

I stared at my feet. I was right about Zane, he did feel different from everyone else. If I thought I was lonely while I was growing up, that was nothing compared to what Zane feels like every day of his life. A little voice in my head said, "Go to him," but I refused to listen to it. I knew I was being selfish, but I didn't want to be with him. I don't mind being his friend, but I wouldn't be beyond that with him. I'll hurt him emotionally, and I'll be hurt when we don't last. It has happened with all of my past relationships. I'm not ready to go through that pain again; it's just too soon.

"Bridge, return to radar," Zane said. I began to panic. I've been back here listening to something that I probably wasn't supposed to know. I rushed back to the door as fast as I could without being heard. I opened the door and closed it louder than before without leaving, and then came around as if I had just come in.

"Hey Zane, how's that 'research' going?" I kindly asked.

He turned to me, a little smile on his face. "Greetings, Macca. It went well, but I'm finished now," he replied.

"What were you trying to find out?"

"Just…things about the history of the Serpentine."

"Cool. I was wondering if you wanted to come down and hang out with us below deck. We need you for the game, or else we're _doomed_."

"Yes, I'll be down in a moment."

"Okay." I turned to leave, but Zane stopped me.

"Macca, why do I sense you're injured?"

I looked at him, then looked down at my right hip. I uncovered my bandages. "My friends and I were goofing off. I got road rash."

Zane's eyes widened. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine. They poured rubbing alcohol on it to clean it up and took me to the hospital. I was being stupid."

"Well, if you need anything, do not hesitate to tell me."

"Thanks, I will." I went down below deck to meet up with the others. All I could think about was Zane. I felt stuck; my head told me to just keep low and maybe he would let go of the feelings he had for me, but my heart told me to reach out to him.

He's all alone. He had nobody else. But he wanted me.

_What am I going to do?_

* * *

><p>==Okay, guys, this is one of my favorite chapters. I don't know if it's just me, but I just needed at least one scene where Zane pours out his heart. I think it's sweet, and I think that if Zane were a real person in our real world, he'd be very good at this. Because he's Zane, and Zane is Zane. He'll have been my obsession for three years straight this February (I consider it my little anniversary).<p>

If you're wondering why I used the "compatible" thing from season 3, it's because P.I.X.A.L. said it to Zane, and I didn't want it to go to waste. Plus I think it's romantic. Even though I dislike P.I.X.A.L. just because she's with Zane in the TV show, I still have plans for her. She definitely won't be in this book, but I have well thought out plans for her and season 2-4. I'll talk more about my plans another time. But for right now, I just want to thank all the people for reading this fan fiction. I really do appreciate it. I don't really understand why I only have one follower and no comments/reviews, but whatever. At least this fan fiction has reached over a hundred people. That's a big plus to me. See ya, homies!==


	7. Chapter 6: The Snake Battle

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 6:**

**The Snake Battle**

_Zane came down shortly after I _did. The guys got a new game out; a zombie apocalypse game. I showed them a game strategy that Linus and I created. Our goal was to reach stage fifty, but it was really difficult. We all had upgraded firearms and a place to kill all the zombies in. "Jay, get to the mystery box!" I said.

"Already there," he replied. The mystery box's chime rang from the television. Kai, Zane, and I ran around the theater stage in circles as the zombies chased us. "Guys! It's a Thunder Gun!" Jay exclaimed.

"Grab it before it disappears!" Kai commanded him.

All of a sudden, a zombie snuck up on Jay. He became injured and fell to the ground.

"I'll get him," Zane said. He left our little racing game with the zombies and went in Jay's direction.

"Macca, I'm out of ammo!" Kai said as he tried to shoot the zombies.

"Just keep running!" I told him.

A big group of zombies blasted against a wall and died by the force of a giant sound wave. "Jay, take down the rest with the Thunder Gun!" I said.

Only a minute went by when all the zombies were dead. The big number in the corner of our screen changed. "Stage forty-six! Finally!" Kai breathed.

The door opened behind us. "Hey guys, is Macca here?" Nya asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," I replied, restoring my weapon's ammunition.

"Sensei Wu wants to see you in private."

I paused. "Am I in trouble?"

"Of course not."

I gave my controller to Cole and got up. Nya led me down to the very last room down the hallway. When she opened the door, Sensei Wu was sitting cross-legged in a calming dimness. A few white candles scattered the floor. A pot was set in front of him, and long traditional sticks stuck out of it. The tips were red as they smoldered, sending gentle smoke up. Sensei Wu had his eyes closed as he focused on the smoke. He was meditating.

"Macca is here, Sensei," Nya softly informed him, trying not to disturb him. She prompted me inside, then closed the door. I didn't know what to do after that, so I sat down in front of the pot and waited.

A relaxing sensation flooded over me. I felt like I could just lay down and go to sleep. Sensei Wu sat in silence for a long time. My back started to ache and my foot was falling asleep. I started to get uncomfortable.

Sensei Wu stirred and opened his eyes. "It is as I suspected," he said.

"What is?"

"There have been disturbances in my smoke visions during meditation. Ever since you were last with my students, I have been having these disturbances."

"Are they…bad disturbances?"

"Even _I_ cannot foretell the omen, young Macca, but I also cannot ignore a feeling of great evil coming in our future."

"Is it Lord Garmadon?"

"No, it's something else. My brother might be using another evil force to weaken the Green Ninja so he may fully destroy him. And…I fear it is _you_."

I froze and stared at the old man. His words punched me in the gut. A pang of sickness came over me for only a moment as I tried to justify the daunting omen. "B-but…I'm not evil!" I said, my words spilling out without me thinking.

"And you are not, but I fear you soon will be. This is the first time I have received such an omen. It worries me."

"There's got to be something you can do to stop it! I don't want to hurt the Green Ninja!"

"I don't know, but there may be one way. Your destiny is twisted, there will be challenges to overcome and obstacles that will need to be defeated. Although your path is dark, there is still greatness I see in you. During the battle with the Fangpyre, I saw bravery and selflessness in your actions. You put yourself in danger to help the Ninja win the battle. And you have physical strength I thought only Cole possessed, but it appears you can temporarily match him. You would be a valuable student of mine. Catching up on your training will take time, but I know my four pupils will help you along the way."

"Whoa, wait, I can't become a _ninja_!"

"You must, it will change your destiny."

"But…Sensei Wu, I appreciate the offer, but I have a career and other things that need my full attention right now. I can't add ninja training to my schedule, it'll just be too much." I rose to my feet. "I'm sorry, but I need another option." I left the room and headed back to the guys.

I made it to the door and stopped. Something wasn't right. I pressed the side of my fist against the wall.

_I'm not evil. I can't be._

"Macca?" a voice said.

I looked up and saw Zane in the doorway.

_Of course it's the ninja that has a crush on me that comes to my aid._

"Hmm?" I responded.

"I sense you're troubled," he continued.

"Just…don't worry about it."

"What is it that Sensei wanted?"

"He just wanted to talk to me."

"About what?"

I gazed into his eyes. They burned into me with something I couldn't read. "My destiny," I grumbled.

"Is that what is troubling you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

He brushed my cheek with his hand. "You can tell me. I won't tell anyone else."

I slapped his hand away, my annoyance overcoming my thoughts. "No, just drop it. Okay?" I snapped.

Zane's expression changed to hurt and rejection.

A red light suddenly flashed through the hallway, followed by a loud siren, making me jump in surprise. Nya's voice projected from little speakers nearby. "I need everyone up in the bridge! Hurry!" she quickly said, sounding distressed.

Zane ran down the hallway to head to the upper deck. The other ninjas appeared from the room and raced after him. Kai stopped and looked back at me. "Come on, Macca!" he said.

I ran up beside him and stayed there as we both ran up to the bridge. Nya stood in front of the radar in panic. I saw a red dot and a blue dot on the radar. They were very close to each other and were in the northern province of Ninjago. "What's the trouble?" Jay asked her.

"A village in Glacier Barrens has spotted both Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tribes close by. They're fighting each other, and guess who's leading the Fangpyre."

"Lloyd and Hannah," Kai breathed, his voice lowered.

"You guys need to intervene and stop the battle. It'll soon flood into the village and possibly kill people," Nya continued.

Sensei Wu stepped in front of us. "Set the course, Nya. Students, prepare for battle. And take Macca, too. She could be of aid to this mission like last time."

"But Sensei," Zane said, "I don't think it would be wise bringing Macca on this mission. She could get hurt again."

I rolled my eyes. Me snapping at him hasn't apparently fazed any of his feelings for me.

"You will follow my instruction without hesitation, Zane. Macca can look after herself and help you and your brothers just as well as you can. I know she will."

"Yes, Sensei," Zane obediently replied.

I looked at Sensei Wu and saw his gaze filled with confidence towards me. It was almost as if I could read his thoughts. He deeply believed I could be a part of this team, no matter what the omen told of my destiny.

[A few minutes later]

The guys took me down to their bedroom to prepare me for the battle. I watched them pull out their weapons from their hiding places in awe. All of their weapons had the detailed engravings of dragons' heads on them: Cole's scythe had its blade emerging from a dragon's mouth, flames creeping along it; Jay's nunchuks had two small dragons' heads facing inward, a small bolt of electricity connecting both ends and emerging from the mouths; Zane's shurikens had three dragons' heads etched into each side; Kai's sword had a dragon's head on the top of the handle, long flames crawling up the blade.

Kai returned from Nya's bedroom with a red coat of hers. "We'll be in the middle of a blizzard," he explained. "You'll need long sleeves."

I nodded and threw the coat on. Jay suddenly kneeled down and spread my legs apart. I had to hold onto his shoulder so I didn't fall over. He strapped a little leather harness around my thigh that had a socket in it. He stood up to show me a sharp dagger. "This is only for emergencies. Use it when you have to defend yourself against Serpentine if needed," he said, handing it to me backwards.

I took hold of its handle and admired the freshly sharpened blade for a moment before sliding it into the socket. Zane came up to me next. He told me to remove my fitted hat and then slipped a half-mask over my nose and mouth, down to my neck. I pulled my hair out from under it. "This is to protect your identity like _we_ have to," he said, pulling out black gloves as well. I put my fitted hat back on and took the gloves when he stepped away.

I was curious to see what Cole would give me, but instead, he led me to another room that had training equipment in it. "I'm just going to show you a few basic moves to use when needed in a battle," he said, pulling out a wooden dummy. Kai handed me a sword to use and stepped back to Jay and Zane. I practiced fighting moves on the dummy that Cole quickly taught me. The Bounty slowly came to a complete stop eventually.

"Guess we've reached our destination," Kai said, pulling his mask over his face along with the others. We all went up to the upper deck, where heavy snow flurries and harsh winds crashed into us.

"Macca, you'll ride with Kai," Cole instructed me. He disappeared within the snow flurries as he headed to the edge of the upper deck. A flash of golden light indicated he jumped off and was inside his vehicle, the Tread Assault.

Kai rested a hand on my shoulder. "Come with me," he said, pulling out his sword. He gave it a little shake, and to my amazement, purely hot fire lit up the blade. "Wow," I breathed. He pointed it closer to me so I could feel the comfortable heat.

"Feel nice?" he asked, snow flurries sizzling against the fire.

"Heck yeah it does." I took hold of his hand and let the light from the fire lead us to where Cole went. I nearly bumped into him when he stopped. He shook the sword to make the fire go out. "Now how is this going to work?" he asked himself.

"Piggyback ride?"

He laughed. "Sure, hop on."

I climbed onto his back as gently as possible. "Let me guess, don't let go, and stay calm?" I asked.

"You got it." Kai concentrated on his golden weapon, and before I knew what was happening, both of us were on his Blade Cycle after a flash of light. We dived into a blizzard that looked to have no bottom. I clenched onto Kai. Even though I trusted he knew what he was doing, I still feared of what was to come when we landed.

Jay's Storm Fighter flew past us, then vanished into the heavy snow flurries. I looked over and thought I saw a ghostly silhouette, but I recognized Zane on his Ice Speeder. We were going to be fighting in perfect conditions for him to be in.

The Blade Cycle suddenly raised its front up and landed in deep snow. The flash of light brought Kai's sword back. Kai helped me tread out of the fresh crater in the snow. "You okay?" he asked me.

I told him I was fine and pulled the coat's hood over my head. Kai made the fire on his sword appear. "We wait until the others find us. Shouldn't be a long wait," he said. I didn't say anything when he threw an arm over my shoulders and pulled me close to him because I was shivering.

Cole was the first to show up after the first five minutes in his Tread Assault. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate snow?" he said after making it return to his scythe.

"I don't think so," Kai replied. A low rumbling approached us. It turned out to just be Zane on his Ice Speeder with Jay, who was shivering, sitting behind him.

"You're not even cold, are you?" Cole asked Zane.

Zane looked over at Cole. "Cold? I find these conditions quite pleasant to be in," he replied.

"How are we supposed to find the battle if we can't even see more than ten feet out in front of us?" I asked.

"Well, however we find it, I don't think going on foot will be fast enough," Kai commented.

"My Tread Assault doesn't have good traction in this snow. It's made for rocky surfaces, not this frozen crap," Cole said.

"Zane's Ice Speeder will have to be our transportation then, because I could barely make it down here myself in my Storm Fighter," Jay said. "I almost crashed into Kai and Macca."

Kai helped me onto the Ice Speeder before he got on. I was comfortably snuggled up against Jay's back as Zane drove his vehicle over hills of deep snow with all of us on it. We were squeezed together uncomfortably, trying our best to stay on without slipping off, but at the same time enjoying each other's body heat like male penguins in their annual huddling up north.

Zane violently stopped his Ice Speeder, almost throwing us off. He stared up ahead without blinking. "Geez! Zane, a bit more warning next time you do that!" Cole griped.

"I sense a village nearby," Zane calmly informed us. "Didn't Nya say that the battle would spill into a village if we didn't stop it?"

Suddenly a Hypnobrai slammed into my leg. Zane lost concentration and his Ice Speeder disappeared from under us. Kai immediately got up and went to strike the snake with his sword, but was interrupted by a fangpyre tackling the hypnobrai with a dagger in hand. Blood soaked the snow. Kai killed the fangpyre before it had time to attack him next.

"Zane, can you sense where the battle is?" Jay asked him.

Zane's gaze turned to the direction where the two Serpentine came from.

I laughed. "Stupid question."

We all struggled to hurry up the side of the mountain. The snow made our legs sink in about knee-height. We barely made any progress as we all became tired from putting in so much effort. Zane tossed his shurikens at more Serpentine that we passed. Jay shivered as he swung the loose end of his nunchuks over his head and shot a lightning bolt at Serpentine.

The noise from the battle grew louder and louder with every yard traveled. A mysterious figure loomed overhead. I pulled out my sword from behind my back. "Uh, guys, do you see that?" I said over the wind.

"See what?" Kai asked.

I saw the figure move towards us. Something big smashed into the snow, making hisses go quiet.

_Oh, no._

Serpentine from the Hypnobrai tribe and the Fangpyre tribe came into view all around us. They were fighting the opposite. Fangpyre were being hypnotized by Hypnobrai. Others were wrestling with weapons in hand until only one remained.

The wrecking ball machine swung its arm and released the wrecking ball to kill Hypnobrai. I could hear the other snake-bitten vehicles in the area but couldn't see where they were.

"Lloyd and Hannah are controlling the Fangpyre. They're the core of this battle. We capture them, the Fangpyre will retreat, and this battle will end," Cole said to us. He gazed at me. "You good with kids?"

"Why you asking me?" I replied.

"Mostly just because you're a woman, but I _do_ know that you have a better chance getting them than I do."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Look, we're going to split up into two groups. Kai, Zane, and Jay, find the village and keep the Serpentine from getting to it as best you can. There's a chance that some may already be fighting in it, but go for as long as you guys can. Macca's coming with me to get the little brats. You'll know we have them when the Fangpyre retreat."

Kai, Zane, and Jay all nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good, let's do this."

Zane looked at me. "Stay close to Cole. Be safe," he said.

I wanted to retort at his comment, but kept my mouth shut. "I'll be fine. Worry about the village, not me," I coolly told him.

Jay gave Zane a suspicious look that the white ninja didn't notice, but then shrugged it off.

[Another few minutes later]

The three of them set off to find the village on Zane's Ice Speeder, leaving Cole and me to find Lloyd and Hannah. We trekked farther up the mountain, around the small battle before us. Cole killed any Serpentine that seemed to be a threat towards us. I had my sword in hand just in case anything bad were to happen and Cole needed my help.

We quickly became exhausted from fighting the heavy snow that brought a whole new layer to sink into. More Serpentine were being passed up along with that. Some were even dead. "I think we're getting closer," Cole said over the wind. "You might have to fight. Just remember what I taught you, and you'll be fine."

Without replying, I continued moving onward. I was starting to lose feeling in my feet because of the cold. I only knew I was still going by hearing the snow crunch underneath me. Cole was showing signs of it, too. "What happens if we're too late?" I asked him.

"See that's the problem, I don't know if Lloyd and Hannah will give up that easily. They're so reckless. If we don't stop them before they cause even _more _trouble in Ninjago, I don't know what'll happen, but I know it won't be good–"

A snake-bitten helicopter flew over us. I could feel the vibration from the propellers hit me. "Let's hurry!" Cole said.

We quickened our pace toward the sound of angry hisses and yowling carried by the wind. Serpentine from both tribes soon surrounded us. I was thankful they weren't focused on Cole and me so we could pass by easily.

I searched for a glimpse of a black and a hot pink sweatshirt somewhere, but at the same time I could barely see more than five feet in front of me by now. I just made sure I didn't lose sight of Cole.

Cole looked back at me as if he heard something. "Macca! Look out!" he warned me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw blue coming after me. "Jay?"

Jay crashed into me without slowing down. It was the fangs in front of my face that made me realize that it wasn't Jay, but a hypnobrai.

Cole stabbed a giant hole through the hypnobrai's back with his scythe. With a single sling, the snake was lifted and thrown to the side. Cole helped me up. "We've got to hurry! They're starting to notice us," he said.

We started climbing up the mountain faster. I could hear the Serpentine all around us hissing. It was like a wave effect was going on. I would hear distant hissing behind us and then it would slowly make its way in front of us.

"Help!" a voice faintly cried out.

"What was that?" I asked Cole.

He paused. "Sounded kind of young, don't you think?"

"Lloyd and Hannah?"

"Help!" the voice cried again. Cole and I followed the voice as best we could. We ran into a scaly vehicle that had huge red eyes and a long tail that curved over like a scorpion's tail, assuring us that we were now in the core of the battle. The only strange aspect of the battle was not seeing very much Serpentine.

"Stay down," Cole instructed me. "We don't know what the Serpentine are planning." We inched past more unmoving vehicles. The voice never rang out a third time. Was the battle already finished?

Fangpyre jumped Cole without warning. I froze in panic. I knew I had to help him, but my mind went blank. Hypnobrai came afterwards and helped the Fangpyre. Yes, they helped the Fangpyre. So much for the battle. But why were the Serpentine suddenly helping each other? Surely this wasn't a part of Lloyd and Hannah's plan. It just didn't add up to their expectations of one day ruling Ninjago together.

"Macca, I need help!" Cole said, snapping me back to the situation. He was having trouble fighting all the snakes while trying not to fall in the snow.

I couldn't even think of the motions he quickly taught me on the Bounty. I found myself just hacking scaly bodies like I was using an ax. The blood splattered my half mask. It made my stomach feel queasy, knowing I was taking lives of creatures that might've had families of their own somewhere in Ninjago.

I closed my eyes tight and tried to imagine I was just chopping wood, which was stupid. I've never chopped wood in all my life. I was killing Serpentine one after the other. I felt disgusted and guilty.

Cole had to tell me to stop when all the snakes were dead. I knew he could see sadness in my eyes as I scanned the dead bodies because I couldn't help but grieve. "You did well for your first series of kills," he complimented, trying to comfort me. "Trust me, the more you do it, the easier it gets. The four of us struggled taking lives when we first became ninjas."

I nodded.

"Come on, our mission isn't finished yet." We continued looking for Lloyd and Hannah, getting ambushed yet again. I heard sobbing at some point, but it wasn't a "being in pain" kind of sobbing, it sounded like a "being scared of dying" kind of sobbing. I left Cole fighting a couple Hypnobrai and found a hypnobrai and a fangpyre standing side by side on a scaly vehicle. The long tails indicated they were the generals. I listened to their conversation.

"I could turn them into one of usss," one of the Fangpyre general's heads suggested.

"No, the little tykesss are pretty uselessss," the Hypnobrai general replied. Its voice was different. How could it be another snake? But then I remembered the original general was overruled. This new general must've been the second in command before, and the one that exiled Lloyd and Hannah from the Hypnobrai tribe.

The Fangpyre general laughed. "Well how about you hypnotize them and make them think they are pigsss?"

"That would be pretty funny!"

Both general's laughed at the thought.

I carefully rounded the vehicle and saw Lloyd and Hannah. They were on their knees, shivering, as a hypnobrai and a fangpyre held them captive. Hannah was the one who was sobbing. Lloyd just stared at the snow, defeat across his face.

I put the whole mission aside. It didn't matter to me that these kids were the bad guys, all I saw were two defenseless kids in trouble. I had to save them, and I knew the others would agree with me.

"I sssay we jussst let them freeze to death! Let them perisssh in the cold asss punissshment for trying to control the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tribesss!" the Hypnobrai general declared.

"Sssounds good to me!" the Fangpyre general agreed.

Hannah screamed when she was lifted off the ground. Lloyd looked worriedly up at the generals, but was taken with Hannah. I had to act now, so I ended up throwing myself between Lloyd and Hannah, and the Serpentine, without a plan.

==Hey guys! I hope you all remember the part of episode 4 when the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre were in the snowy mountains and how they were supposed to fight each other. Because I used that to write this. I guess the real reason I wrote this was because as I was writing what I had already planned, I felt like the fan fiction was moving WAY to fast. I needed to slow it down. Then I got this idea and knew I could do lots of good things with it, like the conversation Sensei Wu and Macca had.

Uh oh, looks like this story had changed some. Macca's the future evil it looks like. And Zane has a big crush on her. What's going to happen? Well, you guys don't know obviously, but even though I do know, writing this made me think, "Something bad is going to happen. Something really bad."

I'm sad to announce that the chapters from now on will be coming more slowly. You see, I've had all this other stuff written for a few months now. I've been copy-and-pasting everything, editing somewhat, then adding the chapter to the story. If you thought I was a fast writer, sorry, but I'm not. Haha I'm a decent writer, but I'm not THAT good. I'm almost done with the next chapter, but everything will be added every few days now. I'll just watch the views the go up, the comments/reviews not come, and hopefully get a few more followers in the future. I laugh when I see all the views for the Prologue being a big number, then the views for Chapter 1 only be a fraction of the views for the Prologue. But hey, I still have people who are reading the other chapters, so good for you all! It tells me that you actually like my fan fiction. It's people like you guys that make me write more and make me write better. I really appreciate that. I promise there will be more chapters coming. A LOT more chapters coming. This story is literally a novel, so yeah. There's going to be a lot of chapters. This story nowhere near the ending.

Please leave comments/reviews about the storyline (whether you like it or not) or just tell me if you like Macca or not! I don't know if you just don't know, but she's based upon me. She's a person that does stuff I want to do with my life if I could do whatever I wanted to. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't like her. I've even been told that she's "bland," which I'm just like, "Well, maybe I act like that so I don't consider her as a 'bland' character." But whatever. All that matters is that Zane wants to be with her! See ya, homies!==


	8. Chapter 7: Operation: Hypothermia

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 7:**

**Operation: Hypothermia**

_I pulled out my sword as _the two generals stared down at me. The last thing they were expecting was me to randomly show up. "Let them go!" I commanded.

The Fangpyre general laughed at me. "Ssseemsss like the Ninja have a new recruit!" one of its heads stated. "And it'sss a young lady! How much more pathetic can they get?" the other head said.

I turned around to face the two Serpentine that had Lloyd and Hannah. They were trying to run away with them, but I sliced open the back of their knees with one single swipe of my sword. Lloyd and Hannah dropped to the ground. I herded them close to me. "Who the heck are _you_?" Lloyd asked me.

"I'm a magical pink unicorn that's going to poof us out of here with my unicorn powers," I sarcastically replied.

Lloyd gave me an unamused look.

"Not really, I hate the color pink, but stay close to me. I'm getting you two out of here."

"Attack!" the Hypnobrai general commanded the Serpentine. I pressed Lloyd and Hannah to my back. Hypnobrai and Fangpyre began emerging from the heavy snow flurries everywhere I looked. They had weapons. It was me, an untrained rookie with a couple of kids to save, versus two tribes of Serpentine. I already knew I had a very small chance of even surviving this attack let alone saving Lloyd and Hannah. But I had to try. The ninjas risk their lives on every mission they endure, so I have to as well.

Hannah yelped in fright as the Serpentine tried to kill me. I swung and I chopped at any snake I saw. Some died, but most sustained healable wounds and came after me again.

I went to touch the top of Lloyd's hood, but couldn't find him. I turned around and saw that they were gone. Panic squeezed my abdomen. The Serpentine snatched them.

Suddenly, a fangpyre collided with me, causing me to lose grip on my sword. Its hot breath touched my neck. I quickly grabbed the dagger Jay gave me from my thigh. My adrenaline was high. The Fangpyre stopped from sinking its teeth into my neck when I repeatedly stabbed it in the back until I couldn't feel it breathing anymore. Warm blood soaked Nya's red coat. I pushed the dead body off me and got to my feet. The other snakes were getting ready to fight me some more, but I picked up my sword and bolted. Lloyd and Hannah had to be around here somewhere.

I ran around reptilian vehicles and killed Serpentine. The colors of Lloyd and Hannah's sweatshirts stopped me. Lloyd was helping pull up Hannah onto a vehicle while Fangpyre surrounded them. One climbed on and tried to coax them to come to it, but they both backed away from it. They stepped all the way back to the scaly mechanical tail. Hannah wrapped her arms around Lloyd in terror. The vehicle's big red eyes looked at its tail as it felt the two children standing on it. And before I had any time to swoop in, it lifted its tail and launched them into blizzard's freezing winds.

"NO!" I screeched. Pure anger raged through me. I ran over to the Fangpyre and killed every one of them without hesitation. Tears streamed down my concealed cheeks. Two children are now lost in the middle of an undying blizzard, and I did nothing to stop it. They could die in minutes by hypothermia. What a horrible way to die.

Somebody called my name. Cole came running up to me. "Where did you go? I turn around and you're gone!" he said.

"I know, I know. Listen, I found Lloyd and Hannah. Both tribes have turned against them and are now working together. But I just watched Lloyd and Hannah being hurled into the middle of this frozen hell! We have to save them!" I said.

Cole's eyes showed no hurry to agree with my task.

The low rumbling of Zane's Ice Speeder approached us. Eventually, Zane, Kai, and Jay showed up on it. "Why are you guys here? You're supposed to be keeping the Serpentine out of the village," Cole said to them.

Kai and Jay hopped off. "The snakes started moving up the mountain for some reason," Jay replied.

"And according to Zane, he sensed Macca was in danger, so we had to come _all_ the way up here to check if she was okay," Kai added.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said. "But Lloyd and Hannah aren't."

"What do you mean?"

I explained what happened to Lloyd and Hannah. "I don't know about the rest of you, but if you won't help me, I'll go after them myself. No child, good or bad, deserves to die in such a way."

"We're not going to let them freeze to death," Cole said. "Zane, you'll help Macca get Lloyd and Hannah. The rest of us will get a hold of Nya and tell her to bring the Bounty down so we can bring the little brats on board and keep them from causing any more trouble."

"Thank you." I quickly hopped on Zane's Ice Speeder and pointed in the direction where Lloyd and Hannah disappeared. Zane revved the engine before setting off.

Lloyd and Hannah had landed somewhere down the mountain. I frantically looked side to side to see if I could spot the color of one of their sweatshirts. I felt so helpless.

"We will find them, Macca," Zane assured me.

I just shook my head. They could be anywhere, and we were running out of time. The only hope I could cling to was Zane sensing their presence like he did with the village. The big difference was that the village was much bigger than two children. But yet again, Zane apparently sensed me being attacked by the Serpentine from all the way down the mountain. But another difference was that he knew I was up the mountain. Neither of us know where Lloyd and Hannah landed. For all I know, they could've landed in the side of some other mountain.

Many minutes passed, and I was breaking down. I could just feel Lloyd and Hannah's bodies shutting down. I could hear their cries of pain. Zane was driving in circles just to check if we somehow missed them.

I tried to remember the last time I experienced going through as much hurt and pain as I was right now. Then I remembered it wasn't me, but our neighbor when I was living in the foster home. Our neighbors were an odd family. There were fourteen children, but the oldest ones had already moved out. I was friends with the youngest child, and she had a pet dog that her parents reluctantly let her keep even though they were always in poverty.

She came crying to me one day because her dog had gone missing from its pen. The next night, when my foster father and I were coming home from the grocery store, we found the dog dead in the road. My friend wouldn't accept that her beloved pet was dead, and that was when our friendship began crumbling apart because she seemed to drift away from me.

Seeing her was tough as the years went by. I never saw her vibrant smile ever again. She lost a pet, but I'm losing the lives of children. How can I ever cope with losing a couple kids when I had the ability to prevent it? Fresh tears surfaced and my lip quivered. I couldn't cope with it at all. "Zane, just stop," I finally said.

"No, Macca, don't give up. We will find them."

"Either you stop, or I'm jumping off."

Zane immediately stopped his Ice Speeder and made it disappear. He saw I was crying when he turned around. "Macca, please, we need to keep going if we're to find Lloyd and Hannah," he said.

"Don't you get it?!" I cried. "We're never going to find them! They're probably already dead because _I_ wasn't fast enough to save them!" A wave of hotness shot through my body. I wiped tears from my eyes as Zane stood before me. I barely felt him pull me into a hug after he got down on his knees.

"It's not your fault," he said.

"I don't care that they unleashed the Serpentine! I just want them safe! They're just kids…"

"I know. That's how Sensei Wu feels." He pulled away and pressed his gloved hand against my cheek. "You need to have hope, Macca. Without hope, Ninjago wouldn't be what it is today. Without hope, you wouldn't be in my life right now."

My eyes widened as I looked into Zane's eyes. He was doing it again; he was using words to draw me close to him.

He inched my half mask down to my neck and slipped my hood off, sending uncomfortable cold to my face. He slipped off his own mask. With his finger tucked under my chin, he brought my head closer. I couldn't tell him to stop. Everything was happening all too fast. I couldn't even breathe. He leaned in to kiss me. Just like in slow motion, his lips got closer…and closer…and closer–

He jerked back and looked sharply to the right. He was sensing something.

I gently inhaled and absorbed what almost just occurred.

_What happened to me? _I wondered. I suddenly became angry at myself. _Do you not understand what could've just happened?! Everything between you and Zane could've changed for the _worst_!_

"I sense Hannah's presence," Zane said.

"You what?"

"I sense Hannah's presence. She's moving." He hurriedly stood up, slipped his mask back on, and began to run through the deep snow as fast as he could move. "I think she's injured!" he added. I concealed my face again and followed his tracks. I caught up to him after a couple of minutes. We both started calling Hannah's name, and it wasn't a long time until we came across a fresh trench in the snow.

_A trench? Why would there be a trench?_

"She's limping," Zane said. "She could be hurting herself even more by moving like this."

"Then _go_!" I urged.

Zane and I followed the trench up the mountain. I noticed there was only one leg hole in the trench every once and a while. I was scared that her leg was broken.

Zane's body language was changing as we trekked onward. I was guessing we were getting closer to her.

"Hannah!" Zane called. He half sprinted half stumbled faster. I heard a little girl scream when he picked her up. Hannah squirmed and cried in his arms.

"Stop! You're scaring her!" I yelled, catching up to him.

He set her down gently, and she came crawling towards me. I got down and held her tightly. "Where's Lloyd?" I asked.

"I don't know!" she sniffled. "I couldn't find him anywhere!"

I looked up at Zane. "What are we going to do now?" I questioned him.

He stared down at me without replying. Hannah nuzzled her face in my neck as she cried. She probably thought Lloyd was already dead. I just wrapped my arms around her and felt her severely shivering. "I'll go look for him," Zane suddenly said.

"By yourself? No way," I replied.

"I can withstand extreme cold effortlessly. This blizzard can't compare to the conditions I have faced before I was ever a ninja." He went around Hannah and me to tread down the mountain. "Stay here. I'll be back with Lloyd as soon as I locate him." Just like he was made of snow himself, Zane disappeared in the thick snow flurries with only a few steps.

Now I was alone with Hannah. I immediately thought of her leg and propped her up in my lap. "Which leg is hurt?" I asked her.

She moved her right leg and winced. "I-it's my ankle," she said, shivering.

I unzipped Nya's coat and pulled Hannah into it. I stimulated her back to bring some sort of warmth to her. "Your sweatshirt's not thick enough," I said.

She said nothing back but hugged me under the coat.

My teeth were beginning to chatter as the minutes ticked by. "C'mon Zane, hurry up," I muttered to myself. His wingspan was long enough for him to easily wrap around us both. I dreamed of his body heat surrounding me comfortably.

"Are we going to die?" Hannah asked me.

I felt my feet go numb from the cold again. I was to tell her yes, but I didn't want to scare her. I just hugged her tighter. "No, sweetie. Zane's coming back with Lloyd any minute now," I told her. Only I felt like I just lied to her.

The wind picked up and whipped our bodies. We both flinched. It didn't ease off either, which made me worry about frostbite and hypothermia.

How could Zane possibly find this kind of climate comfortable? He must have been dealing with it for so long that it didn't bother him anymore. No wonder his skin is so pale! Getting a tan is the last thing he could think about, let alone spending a day at the beach.

So why did he have this big crush on me? Come to think of it, we're complete opposites. He's tall, I'm short. He has pale skin, I have tan skin. He has blonde hair, I have brown hair. His hair is straight, mine is curly. He has blue eyes, I have hazel eyes. He's always serious, I'm always goofing off. He doesn't laugh at anything, I laugh at everything. I don't understand what he sees in me that's so special to him, but is it only because I'm different from all the other women of the world? I mean, I dress different, I act different, and my whole lifestyle is different. I would say I'm the weird one in this situation. I guess that would be the big mystery of Zane. Out of all the women in the world, he chose me: a dubstep-loving, breakdancing, female DJ, who is one of the most famous people in all of Ninjago.

"Why's the wind so loud?" Hannah asked, her voice muffled from being pressed against me.

I lifted my head and listened. She was right, not only had the wind increased, but it seemed to have also gotten louder. "I don't know," I replied. "Just try to keep warm."

Hannah tucked her head deeper into the coat. I could feel my ears beginning to ache from the snow flurries. My fingers were tingling as they turned numb. This could be the end. Hearing the roar in the wind could be the last thing I do before I freeze to death.

_Wait, why would the wind be _roaring_?_

I looked up at the sky, which was dark with clouds and littered with trillions and trillions of snow flurries, and saw a light.

_There's no way that can be the sun. _

Then a large spotlight beamed down on us. I made Hannah stand up, though we both barely could. I frantically waved toward the spotlight. It burned my eyes, but I didn't care. The spotlight was coming from the Bounty. I knew it was.

Hannah clung to my waist as she shivered. "Hang in there, Hannah. We're almost out," I said.

The Bounty lowered and landed nearby. I got down and let Hannah on my back. I relied on the crunching of snow underneath me to tell me I was actually heading toward the Bounty. I panted and stumbled along the way. The cold has made me weak from sitting with Hannah.

I was met by Kai, Jay, and Cole a quarter of the way there. "You found Hannah," Cole said, taking her from my back.

"Be careful with her. Her ankle's hurt," I warned him. I threw my arms over Jay and Kai's necks so they could help me walk.

"Where's Zane?" Kai asked me.

"He went down the mountain to find Lloyd. He never came back."

"Zane should be fine. It's Lloyd that Sensei Wu is worried about."

Sensei Wu and Nya were waiting for us on the upper deck. Nya was bundled up but Sensei Wu wasn't. "Zane and I found Hannah," I said as Kai gave me a boost onto the upper deck. Nya helped pull Hannah up after Cole lifted her up. "Her ankle's hurt," I added.

"Take them to my room," Nya said. "I prepared hot water and blankets after you left." Hannah and I were carried below deck by Cole and Kai. We were taken to a bedroom that had a pink queen-sized bed with a purple rug underneath it. Kai set me down on the edge of the bed and removed Nya's coat from my body. He slipped my shoes and socks off. My feet were red from being so cold. I found my hands in the same condition when I slipped off the gloves. Kai went over to a steaming pot to pour hot water into a large bowl. He dunked my feet into the water to restore warmth to them quickly.

Nya stripped the hot pink sweatshirt from Hannah and did the same with her. Once her feet were no longer cold, she dried them and checked her ankle. "I think it's just sprained," she said. She left the room and came back with a first aid kit. She pulled out a roll of medical wrap and wrapped her ankle with it. "Try not to move it so much," she told her. "It'll heal quicker."

Kai wrapped a thick blanket around me and pulled me into a short-lived hug. "You did great," he said after pulling away. "That's the kind of thing a true ninja does."

I smiled at him. "What can I say? I can have a heart."

Kai took a step back and crouched down at the bowl. "Your feet good?"

I wiggled my toes and felt them rub against each other. "Yeah. I can feel them again. Thanks."

Kai took them out of the water and dried them with a towel. Nya put Hannah under the bed covers so she could rest. "You want a foot massage?" Kai offered.

I laughed. "No, I'm good. I'll just snuggle up with Hannah." I crawled up to the head of the bed and uncovered Hannah, who lifted her head. "Scooch your bootch," I said.

She scooted over just a tiny bit. I laid down next to her and covered up with the blanket Kai wrapped me in. Everyone left the room. Though the lights were still on, I snoozed out of exhaustion.

* * *

><p>A ruckus outside awoke me and Hannah both. We sat up in the bed and listened to what was going on. "He needs to be warmed in fast!" a voice said. I recognized Jay.<p>

"Hurry! His fingers are blue!" Nya's voice said.

"Zane's back," I said.

"Did he find Lloyd?" Hannah asked me.

"I don't know."

The door flew open and Zane came in. His ninja suit had a layer of snow stuck to it. He cradled someone in black clothing.

It was indeed Lloyd.

Everyone else filed into the room behind Zane. I got out from under the blanket and went to the edge of the bed. I motioned Zane to let me hold Lloyd while the others warmed him up. Hannah hopped out of the bed and hugged Zane around his waist. "You found him! You found him!" she hailed.

Zane looked down at her without a reaction. Kai pulled her away and nudged her back to the bed. "Go get cleaned up," he said to Zane. "We can handle it from here."

Zane gave him a single nod and left the room, leaving a thin trail of snow behind him. "Zane found him unconscious," Jay said to me. "We think he suffered a concussion when he landed. But all that matters is that he's breathing."

"As long as he's not in a coma," I replied. I stroked Lloyd's blonde hair out from his eyes and pressed the side of my head against his. It wasn't until then I realized how bad he smelled. I jerked my head away in disgust. I rubbed his T-shirt between two of my fingers and felt how dirty it was. "Hannah, how long has it been since you and Lloyd have had a shower?" I asked her.

"Uh…since we left Darkley's," she said.

"Well that explains it. Lloyd smells like a _lawnmower_! I'm making _both_ of you take a shower when he wakes up."

"They can use mine," Nya offered.

"Thanks."

Lloyd's hands were dunked into the hot water last. They were taken out when his fingers were no longer blue. "Are you still going to lay down with them?" Kai asked me.

"I have plenty of time," I replied. Kai picked up Lloyd and laid him in the bed. Hannah snuggled up next to her best friend.

Kai told me he would come down to check on us in a couple of hours before he left the room. Everyone cleaned up everything that was used and then left. I didn't know if Hannah was asleep yet, but I went ahead and laid down next to them. I was sure Hannah's body heat would keep Lloyd warm. I was just worried that he wouldn't wake up soon.

==Hey guys! Okay, I know I said it'd be a while, but I decided to end this chapter a little bit earlier. I think it's a good enough spot.

I forgot to say that the game they were playing in the last chapter was supposed to be Black Ops Zombies. I don't really know why. But it was either that or Left 4 Dead. I loved both of those games when I was younger. In the end, I decided that Black Ops Zombies would be better.

So I don't know if you all are wondering why I gave Lloyd a little partner in crime. It's a long story, but I have a best friend named Hannah Chicken Butt (another interesting story). Our friendship is all about Ninjago. I love her so much. When I first started writing this fan fiction, she wasn't in it. But then, she moved to Texas. I was really upset and scared that I would lose my best friend. We're managing really good right now through FaceTime and all. Anyway, I got the good idea of putting her in this fan fiction along with many of my other friends (Erica and Detective Davis; more will appear). Hannah's favorite ninja was originally Kai, but then I literally crammed her brain with Zane, so then she decided that Zane was her favorite. But as our 8th grade year went by, she said that Lloyd just "warmed up to her" so then Lloyd became her favorite. Heaven forbid she changes her mind AGAIN! Because it's too late now.

Okay, I forgot what I was wanting to say after that. If I remember, I'll talk about it after the next chapter. Expect a wait for that one. See ya, homies!==


	9. Chapter 8: Taking Advantage

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 8:**

**Taking Advantage**

_I was awakened by soft noises _in the room. I opened my eyes and listened. My first thought was that it was Kai coming to check on us. I heard something being placed on a nearby table. Glass maybe? No, it must be a plate.

Then the door quietly closed behind him when he left.

I closed my eyes to drift off into sleep again, but was interrupted by someone moving in the bed. A pair of feet touched the rug under the bed. More movement make the bed vibrate. There was shuffling on the floor. I sat up and pointed at Lloyd and Hannah. "Where do you two think you're going?" I asked.

Hannah had her arm wrapped over Lloyd's shoulders as he was helping her stand up and walk. They both looked at me with wide eyes. "Uh…going to get a drink of water," Hannah replied.

"Nice try," I said. Lloyd turned to run, but Hannah struggled to follow. "Lloyd, you can try to run, but Hannah's injured and won't be walking normally anytime soon. I know you won't leave her behind either. Now come back here before I _make_ you."

Lloyd hesitated, but then helped Hannah back to the bed. I got up to see what Kai left for us. A wide plate covered in homemade cookies, cheese, and crackers had a note next to it.

_Make sure they eat._

_– Zane _

So it wasn't Kai, it was Zane. That meant Kai will come by later.

I picked up the plate and took it to Lloyd and Hannah, who both sat on the bed. "Zane left some snacks," I said. I held out the plate to them. Hannah immediately examined and took a couple cookies. I waited for Lloyd to take something, but he just sat there. "Lloyd?" I said.

"I'm not hungry," he insisted.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that. Now take something and eat it."

Lloyd gazed at me, annoyed, and then took a cracker. I picked up a cookie myself to nibble on before putting the plate down. "Okay, here's the plan," I said. "Both of you smell terrible, so I'm making you take showers. I'm going to clean your clothes. And then we're going to talk. Now, who takes the quicker shower?"

Hannah had her mouth too full to answer, but she pointed at Lloyd.

"Wait, why do we have to talk?" Lloyd asked.

"Because you almost died. No more questions. Get in the shower." I pointed to Nya's bathroom.

Lloyd got up and went into the bathroom. I put my hands on my face when I looked at Hannah. "How are we going to do this?" I asked her.

"Do what?"

"Wash your clothes. I can wash Lloyd's while he's taking his shower, but _you _can't shower right now, and I think it'd be better if we washed your clothes at the same time–"

An idea came to my mind. I told Hannah to stay put and left the room. I went to the ninjas' bedroom in search of their pajamas. There was a room connected to the bedroom that was treated like a big closet. It had storage for their weapons and other pairs of clothes.

I went over to four big storage cabinets and opened every one of them. All of their dragon suits hung from a hanger inside along with two pairs of pajamas for each ninja. One of Zane's pairs was missing, though.

I quickly took both of Kai's pairs and closed all the doors. When I returned to Nya's room, I found Hannah stuffing her face with snacks. "Dang, girl, you need to slow down," I said before putting the pajamas on the bed. "How did you get over there so fast?"

She shrugged.

"Alright, get over here."

Hannah finished off the cracker she was eating and hobbled over to me. I looked over at the wall next to the bed and saw a fusuma screen. Hannah could

change into the pajamas behind it. I handed her a pair of the pajamas and told her to change. "I need your underwear, too," I said. I quietly opened the bathroom door. Lloyd was in the shower. He left all his clothes in the middle of the floor, so I grabbed them. "Don't forget to scrub the bottom of your feet," I reminded.

"Ah! Get out!" he yelped from behind the steamy glass door. I closed the door behind me when I exited.

Hannah changed pretty quickly into the pajamas. I had just handed her the plate of snacks when Kai came into the room. He saw what Hannah was wearing. "Why is she–" he began.

"Their clothes need to be washed," I interrupted.

Kai opened his mouth but then closed it. He looked at all the clothes I was holding. "Alright, I can do that for you," he said, taking them.

I added the sweatshirts to the bundle before he left.

"These pajamas don't fit me," Hannah said.

I looked back at her. "Well, they _are_ for an adult man," I replied. "But don't worry. You'll be out of them as soon as your clothes are clean."

I heard the shower stop in Nya's bathroom. I grabbed the second pair of pajamas to give Lloyd. "Heads up, Lloyd!" I warned before slightly opening the bathroom door and tossing the pajamas inside. It wasn't long before Lloyd came out of the bathroom with the pajamas on. Kai returned and asked if he needed to do anything else.

"Nah, I got it," I told him. "But are we out of the blizzard?"

"We've been out of it for a while," he said, giving me a smile. He looked at me for a moment, and then turned to leave. "I'll be up in the bridge with the others. Call me if you need anything."

"He has a weird smile," Hannah said.

"It may be crooked, but it sure does suit him," I laughed. I pointed at the bathroom for her to go in next.

Lloyd and I were now alone together, which was awkward. I knew he didn't like me for some reason. But what if it wasn't me? Maybe it's just the fact that he's been caught that's bothering him.

I picked up a brush and started brushing his damp hair. "I can do this myself, you know," he grumbled.

"Well, you need to rest," I replied. "It's been quite a day for you." I tried brushing his hair back into the bowl shape it was originally in. I admired how he had blonde hair. It was something I didn't expect from a boy whose father was an evil being.

Once I was certain his hair was good enough, I put the brush down. "Now, do you want a hair barrette or a ponytail holder?" I asked.

Lloyd didn't reply.

"I was joking!"

"I know you were, but I don't think it's funny."

"Fair enough." I didn't want Lloyd to be unhappy. He needed to know that just because I'm one of the good guys doesn't mean I don't care about him. I might've messed with him the last few times we've crossed paths, but during my mission to rescue him and Hannah, I realized that they're just as innocent as I was when I was their age. They didn't know what they were doing when unleashing the Serpentine. In fact, how did they gain control over the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tribes?

Lloyd stared at the wall. All he wanted was to be like his father. At least he was aspiring a dream, especially since he's just a kid. I remember my dream when I was growing up was to find my biological parents. Little did I know how unlikely that was.

"So, Lloyd," I said, sitting on the bed beside him.

"So, what?" he replied.

"What are the Serpentine like?"

He looked at me with a scowl across his face. "Don't pretend like you care about me."

"I'm not pretending. I want to be your friend. I know I haven't been that nice to you before, but I want to now."

"Why?"

"Because you probably wouldn't be sitting here, safe and alive, if Zane and I hadn't gone looking for you." I examined a knot forming on his temple. It must've been the place that caused Lloyd to suffer his concussion after landing in the side of the mountain. I wanted to ask if it hurt, but stopped when I thought of what a stupid question that would be.

"What's your father like?" I asked, changing the subject.

Lloyd's eyes lit up. "My father was ruler of the Underworld!" he exclaimed.

"Wait. _Was_ ruler?"

"Yeah, I don't know where he is now. He used to visit me in shadow form while I was at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, but then he suddenly stopped coming."

"Do you know why?"

"Not really, but he _did_ say he wouldn't be coming again for a little while, and that next time I saw him, he wouldn't be a shadow anymore, he would be real."

The shower stopped in Nya's bathroom. Lloyd and I continued to talk about Lord Garmadon until Hannah came out. I told her to sit down in front of me on the bed so I could brush her hair out as well.

"If you were at Darkley's you're whole life, then how did you meet Hannah?" I asked Lloyd.

"I went there," Hannah answered.

I sat back and thought of her answer. "How is that even possible?!"

"I drove my parents nuts. Next thing I know, I'm being stuffed into a potato sack and dropped off at Darkley's."

"They just left?"

"Pretty much. They have my little brother, though, so I don't really care. They always preferred him over me."

"Hannah literally showed up, duct taped the principal to his chair, and forced herself into the school," Lloyd said.

"Don't forget, I also got the VIP room all to myself," Hannah told him.

"Everybody learned to stay out of her way after a couple of days, especially when she helped get these two bullies off my back."

Hannah laughed. "Brad and Gene? Bullies? More like a couple of weinies that cried to their mommas every night!"

Lloyd and Hannah high-fived each other and laughed.

I cracked up at Hannah's choice of words. It sounded like something I would say. I finished brushing Hannah's hair and put the brush back where I found it.

"How on earth did you gain control over the Serpentine?" I asked them curiously.

Hannah looked at Lloyd. "You tell her."

"Fine. After the ninjas stopped us from stealing candy the first time, Hannah and I trekked up the other side of the mountain and found the Hypnobrai Tomb. The old general, Slithraa, met us inside."

"He tried to hypnotize us," Hannah added.

"Yeah, he did. But then he saw his reflection in some ice and hypnotized himself, so _we_ ended up controlling _him_."

"Then you two raided Jamanakai Village again?" I inquired.

"Yeah, and we almost beat the Ninja that time, but we didn't. They even took Slithraa's staff. We raided it a third time to see if we could win, but failed."

"And that's when I came into the picture," I said.

"That's also when Hannah and I decided to build a Treehouse Fortress in the Wildwood Forest as our headquarters for when we took over Ninjago. But yet again, the Ninja destroyed it."

"We burned down their monastery as revenge!" Hannah boldly stated.

"Well I guess it didn't really work out for you guys, then, because the Ninja can fly now," I informed her.

"Whatever."

"Hannah and I were unable to control the Hypnobrai anymore after that. We were tied up the whole time we were returning to the Tomb. The second in command, Skales, challenged Slithraa in the Slither Pit. And then after Skales won, he exiled Hannah and me. From there, we set out for the Fangpyre Tomb."

"How did you control them?" I asked.

"Fangtom, the Fangpyre general, just said that his tribe owed us for unleashing them from the Tomb."

"Then he betrayed you two today?"

"I guess so. The Serpentine were fighting just like we had planned, and then suddenly Skales and Fangtom started plotting against us once they ran into each other."

The three of us continued talking and eating for a good hour. I felt Lloyd and Hannah beginning to open up to me. The subject kept changing from something about their personal lives to something about things they did at Darkley's.

Zane even came in to refill our snack plate. I laughed when I saw he was wearing the pair of pajamas that were missing from his storage cabinet. It wasn't long after that when Kai came back in with clean laundry for Lloyd and Hannah to slip on. They were a bit disappointed by the sight of their painted skeleton ribs being faded from the wash. "Don't worry, I'll repaint them myself soon," I promised.

I put up Kai's pajamas after Lloyd and Hannah changed back into their clothes. They were about to start a wrestling match on Nya's bed during my return, which I stopped just in time. "We're _not_ going to break Nya's bed," I said.

Lloyd gave Hannah a little push. "Nice going, Hannah Chicken Butt!" he said.

Hannah laughed and fell over onto the bed.

I gave them a weird look. "Hannah _Chicken Butt_? Why did you just call her Hannah Chicken Butt?"

"Because it's the nickname I gave her!" he replied.

"Why would you let him call you that?!" I asked Hannah.

"Because I like it!" she said.

I laughed. "How could you like the name Hannah Chicken Butt?"

"Well, when we first became friends, Lloyd came up to me and said, 'Hannah, guess what.' And I said, 'What?' Then he said, 'Chicken butt!' And then I started laughing, so that's why I'm Hannah Chicken Butt."

"That's…interesting."

The Bounty suddenly began to descend, resulting in a gentle thud to indicate that it touched land. I checked the time on my cell phone and saw that it was early for me to be going home. I decided to go up and ask why exactly we landed. "I'll be right back," I said to Lloyd and Hannah. "No wrestling on Nya's bed."

I walked down the hallway and turned a couple times before I made it to the upper deck. The Bounty had landed in the Sea of Sand, near some kind of small oil rig on the outskirts. I went up the two flights of stairs to go into the bridge. Nya, Kai, and Zane were inside. "Hey, why did we land?" I asked them.

"The Bounty needed to be refueled," Nya informed me. "How are Lloyd and Hannah?"

"They're fine. But Lloyd has a nasty place on his forehead that might need some checking out."

"Bring him up," Kai said. "We'll take a look at it."

I nodded and left to get Lloyd. I went all the way back down to Nya's bedroom. I expected to hear Lloyd and Hannah laughing or wrestling, even though I told them not to, but there was silence. I opened the door. There was nobody. "Alright, guys, I can't play hide and seek right now. Come out," I said.

No response. I started looking around the room. When I found nothing, I looked in other rooms in the hallway. I was beginning to panic by the time I had checked about five other rooms, including the ninjas' bedroom. I rushed back up to the bridge for help. I barged through the door and was out of breath. All three of them stared at me as I panted and tried to talk. "Lloyd…Hannah…I can't…find them…anywhere," I panted.

Zane and Kai instantly shot past me to get below deck. I followed them once my breath was caught up. I was waiting for either Lloyd or Hannah to pop out of a random place at some point, but thirty minutes of nonstop searching showed that they weren't even on the Bounty. I ran outside and shouted their names, but they didn't show up.

Nya even flew the Bounty around the area once it was refueled to see if the radar could spot them. I was upset that they were gone, but what made me mad was how they played me. After all I did for them, they just left.

Zane tried to make me feel better about the situation, telling me that they were fed and cleaned up and alive, but the thought of them going out to unleash the rest of the Serpentine tribes worried me. They could get killed like they almost did today.

The Bounty was heading to Ninjago City, so I went ahead and leaned against a railing on the upper deck to wait. I didn't want to be near Zane for the remainder of my stay. It wasn't long before I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Zane, I swear, if you don't leave me alone–" I began.

"Relax! It's Kai," Kai said.

I turned around, feeling guilty. "Oh, sorry," I said. "Zane just seems to be my little rescuer at times like these."

Kai laughed. "I've noticed that. I could also tell he was getting on your nerves."

I sighed. "He's a sweet guy and all, but to me, he can be _too_ much at one time."

"He just wants to be your friend."

_You don't know the half of it, _I said to myself.

"I want to be his friend, too, but…he's just not…I don't want to say _normal_."

"He's weird."

"No, don't call him that."

"Why not?"

_Because it's things like that that make him feel different. And why he's all alone..._

"Uh, because it's not nice."

"You think _that's_ not nice? You should hear us talk about how bad Cole's chili is."

I laughed but tried to stop. "That's not the same!"

"Sure it is."

We both stood there for a moment. I saw Kai looking at me funny. "What?" I asked.

"What what?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Okay, I know you're not happy about Lloyd and Hannah, but we got them once, we can get them again. When that happens, you can teach them how to breakdance."

I laughed, shaking my head. "I'm not teaching a couple eight-year-olds how to breakdance. They can come and watch me, but they aren't doing it themselves."

"I think they're…twelve? Maybe, I don't know. We'll get them back as soon as we know their next scheme. I'll make sure you're with us, too."

I jumped and threw my arms around his neck. We held each other for a moment before I said, "You're a great friend."

The Bounty hovered over my apartment complex. Kai and I took a ride on the anchor down to the roof. With me on his back, he took us down to the window I was taken out of earlier today. I slipped into my apartment after he opened it. "Are you coming back tomorrow?" he asked.

"I can't tomorrow, but I can in a couple of days. Then we got a breakdance battle next week."

"We'll be there for that, you can count on it."

"I'll reserve front row seats for you guys."

"Great. I'll see you in a couple of days." Kai leaned forward and planted a kiss on my cheek. I was taken aback by the gesture, and he was gone in the blink of an eye. I watched the Bounty fly away.

I pressed a finger to my cheek. I could still feel the pressure his lips left behind. The gesture was just friendly, though, wasn't it?

* * *

><p>==Hey guys! This took a lot longer for me to write than I intended it to. Sorry about that. But I just have quite the busy schedule right now. School, soccer, and I'm in my school's musical this year (I'm a singing gorilla :P). So I'm not lazy. But Sims 4 can be a distraction sometimes. Luckily I haven't played in a couple of weeks.<p>

The next chapter is one I've been dying to write for a couple months now. It's definitely short, but interesting stuff happens in it.

I remembered what I was going to say in the last author's note. I don't know how I forgot, but it was one of those things that you plan on talking about, then you get distracted, then you forget. So, those odd neighbors of Macca's were actually my grandpa's family. My grandpa was the third born of fourteen, and they lived in a house up in Indiana that only had three bedrooms. One for the boys, one for the girls, and one for the parents. My mom's Aunt Wendy was the youngest child and she just happens to be the one I know best because she lives nearby whereas the other still live up North (I live in Tennessee). Aunt Wendy slept in a crib in the parents' bedroom until she was in 2nd grade. Yeah, that's how bad it was. I just decided to mention them. They have such great stories to tell. I want to hear more.

Haha Hannah Chicken Butt. She loves that name! Everything written about how she was given the name is a true story from when we were in 6th grade.

Well, I'm supposed to be getting ready to go to musical practice. Hope you all like this chapter! I like the ending to it! See ya, homies!==


	10. Chapter 9: Ruined

**Ninjago Fan Fiction Volume I: Reign of the Serpentine**

**Chapter 9:**

**Ruined**

_I pondered about how the rhythm_ should go for the second verse of the song. With my headphones swallowing my ears, I listened to what I have already made of the song I wrote on the Bounty the day Zane flirted with me for the first time. It's been coming along well, but I've just hit a brick wall in my brain.

I decided to just make up a small series of sounds and choose which one sounded best. My main objective was a happy-feeling, bouncy beat that made people just want to reach to the sky on their tiptoes, as if they were wanting something to come down and take them away from the world. After all, it's what I feel like doing when I'm wanting the Destiny's Bounty to come get me.

I turned little knobs and increased the bass on the mixing board. Once I found a decent sound, I elongated it along with more sounds to make it come alive. I made sure the beats per minute were precise and lasted the amount of seconds needed. I transferred everything to my laptop after I was satisfied so I could listen to it later. I repeated this process with four tracks that sounded completely different from each other.

After individually listening to each track and tweaking them, I compared them. One of them was immediately discarded. "Not your best work," I said to myself.

I couldn't make out which of the remaining three was best. I stroked an annoying strand of hair out of face. I took a deep breath and released it. "Be patient, Macca," I reminded myself. "This stuff doesn't happen overnight."

The tracks got changed a little bit like a dance routine. I took particular sounds and enhanced them, or I changed the noise pitches through the laptop. It was almost an hour later when I finished and compared again.

A track I spent the most time changing wasn't meeting my expectations. I deleted it. Now the decision was getting tough. The remaining two both sounded amazing by themselves. I didn't think I even wanted to just get rid of it.

_I could use the loser for another song, _I thought.

Yes, that was a good plan. But which track would be the winner?

I worked more on adding a new leg to each track: the energetic chorus and bass drop. The sounds were pulsating.

Suddenly I knew which one. I kept listening to it over and over. I was positive this was the right choice. I transferred the track I didn't pick into a file on my laptop for another time. I was very excited to piece together this song. "Time for a victory bathroom break!" I said. I didn't bother to shut my laptop or turn anything off since I was coming right back. Besides, the door would lock itself when it closes.

I returned within ten minutes. But before I entered, my cell phone vibrated in my pant pocket. I took it out to find a text message from the Destiny's Bounty, more than likely from Kai.

The text said: _Have u seen Zane?_

I raised an eyebrow. Why would I have seen Zane?

I replied: _No, y?_

I unlocked the door while waiting for a response. When I opened it, there he was. The sight shocked me. I couldn't move. I stared at him. Then a scary emotion set in when I saw what he was doing. Zane wasn't just standing there and waiting for me, he was touching my equipment in panic, as if he had messed something up and was trying to fix it.

Finally he saw I was there and stepped away from the turntables hastily. The words were stuck in my throat. I was speechless over what I just witnessed.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" I croaked.

"I-I'm sorry!" he stammered. He knew he was in trouble from the glare I was giving him.

"Why were you touching my stuff?"

"I-I didn't mean to. I was trying to put everything back where it originally was."

"You don't just fucking 'accidentally' touch something that's not even near the door, Zane!"

"I can explain."

_My song! _I suddenly thought.

I shot forward and put my headphones over my ears. I quickly made the song play.

But there wasn't any song.

I pressed a couple other buttons and waited. Sound came that time, but it wasn't my song anymore. It was complete garbage. The sounds didn't have layers; they didn't even correspond. I checked the song on the laptop. As long as it was saved on my laptop, I could bring it back safely. But it was the same garbage that was on the turntables. I looked at recently opened files that contained the vocals to the song. They were gone. My next action was to check the track I didn't pick. It was gone, too; it had been recorded over. The song I had worked hard on for almost a month was ruined. There was no way I could remake it for it to sound the exact same.

Fury surged through my veins. I threw the headphones onto the floor, where they shattered. Zane looked at me with a startled expression. "GET OUT!" I screamed. "GET OUT _NOW_!"

Zane stood there, frozen, in shock of my blistering anger.

I shoved him backwards with all my power. "GET OUT! I DON'T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU HERE AGAIN!" I screamed, shoving him again.

I was about to hit him until he left in a hurry. I slammed the door shut and threw my fitted hat at the wall. I could hear my quickening heartbeat in my eardrums.

I paced the room, thinking of something to take all of my anger out on. After grabbing my hair, my fist found the wall more than once. I punched it so much that I made two different holes and dents in the drywall. My knuckles started to bleed. The pain intensified my anger. I grabbed a picture frame from the wall and smashed it against my computer desk. Glass scattered all over the floor. Then I screamed so loud that I swore people outside of the club could hear me.

When my fit of rage was over, I sat on the floor with my back against the damaged wall. The extreme heat my body was giving off made me sweat slightly. I buried my face into my knees and cried.

I didn't know how long I cried, but it was long enough to let my body cool down. I wiped away tears and felt my nose running. I couldn't decide whether to be upset or furious over the loss that could've helped get my paycheck back. To be honest, I didn't even care about my paycheck right now. It was the song I cared about. Now it's gone and I can never get it back.

I finally stood up and examined the mess I made. I was actually surprised about all I did. I checked my knuckles and saw the blood drying on them.

_I really did all this? _I wondered.

My mind transitioned its thoughts to Sensei Wu's omen about my destiny. This whole erratic rampage of mine seemed weird to me for some odd reason. I was angry, so I destroyed things. Did Lord Garmadon do this kind of thing as well?

_I'm a monster, _I thought.

I left the room to clean off my hands. I returned with a broom and a dust pan from the janitor's closet to clean up the mess. The glass from the picture frame had scattered all across the floor. Luckily I was wearing sneakers so it didn't affect me when I walked. The damage to the wall was going to be fun to explain to Mr. Matthews, unless I could get Linus to stop by and fix it for me soon.

I swept every square inch of the floor until I was sure there wasn't a fragment of glass left. I gathered the broken picture frame and looked at the now exposed photo that it had. It was a picture from a year ago. Linus, Trent, and I were in it. Trent. There were times when I wished he liked me more than a friend. He cares about me. I know as a friend, he loves me. And I love him, too, for that reason. I've always been one of his priorities since we became friends. That's why I usually go to him whenever I'm upset about something. I just need to hear his voice, to feel his arms around me when I cry. He'll always be my friend. My great friend. I felt terrible for breaking a picture that had my two friends in it.

I took the picture out of the frame and put it in a safe place. I threw away all the glass, and the destroyed headphones, and put away the broom and dust pan. When I stood in front of my turntables and mixing board, I didn't know what to do next. I didn't have a song to work on anymore. My mindset right now isn't coming up with any ideas for songs, either.

I gazed up at a video camera I set up to record me playing mixtapes to post on the internet. Something caught my eye about the video camera. There was a blinking red light. I reached up and grabbed the camera to find it recording. I turned it off.

_How long has this_ _been on?_

I took the camera to my computer and hooked it up to watch what it had recorded. The first image that popped up was me turning it on. Then I backed up and fixed my hair a bit before saying, "Mixtape number thirty-eight now recording." At that moment, I remembered coming to work earlier than usual yesterday to do a mixtape session. Two small speakers on stands were plugged into the turntables so the music could be played aloud.

I skipped through the fifteen minute session. I would look over that part of the footage later.

Once I had finished the mixtape with the spin of a turntable, I looked directly into the camera for moment with a smile and a wave of my hand. I reached up and thought I shut off the camera, but I didn't. I put the speakers away and then left the room to prepare the stage for the night. From there, there was footage of a pitch black room for over twelve hours.

I skipped through it all until the lights were turned on and I came in wearing new clothes. I looked down at myself. Those were the same clothes I was wearing right now. I skipped through two hours of me working on my song before it got ruined. I watched myself make the series of tracks and deleting the ones I didn't like. When I picked the best one, I left to use the bathroom. This is when Zane should be sneaking in somehow.

I waited less than thirty seconds when odd noises began to be heard. Suddenly, the most unexpected thing happened. Zane's legs came dangling from the ceiling. The rest of his body dropped down without a sound. My eyes widened at the exotic entrance. Zane glanced around. He must've thought I was still inside. Then he used one of his golden shurikens with a thin rope tied to it to put the ceiling tile back into place. He slipped his mask off as he approached my turntables. I could tell he had never seen such peculiar electronics before. "Is this your instrument, my dearest Macca?" he asked.

Out of curiosity, he touched the mixing board and waited. When nothing happened, he pressed a random button, which happened to be the button that recorded sounds. Of course, nothing happened again, so he pressed the button above it, which made the winning track play. But because he wasn't wearing the headphones, he couldn't hear the track playing.

Almost as if he were investigating, he touched every knob on the mixing board to make sound come out. "You have quite a talent that I cannot figure out, Macca. How on earth do you make your wonderful music?" he said, inspecting my laptop. He tried to see if my laptop had anything to do with making sounds come out. I guessed he opened recently opened files that had important content to the song.

He jerked his head towards the door and paused. Then he looked at all he had touched and started to try to fix it. He kept switching from the mixing board to my laptop over and over again. He realized he confused himself.

I noticed he pressed the recording button again. Zane saw that he pressed it and immediately pressed the one above it. Just at that moment, I opened the door off screen. Zane continued to panic and touched the mixing board. He soon stopped and saw me looking at him. He backed away from the turntables. I began to talk to him, and then quickly put the headphones on to check the track. After I checked everything and found it all ruined, I threw the headphones onto the floor. Zane flinched behind me. I screamed at him and shoved him. When he quickly left, my rampage came. My jaw dropped as I watched myself destroy things. I jumped when the glass from the picture frame went flying across the floor. I came back onto screen just barely when I sat down against the wall and cried.

I couldn't believe how much I destroyed in such a little amount of time. I finally just turned off the computer. I knew what would happen next in the video.

_But why did you come, Zane?_

I went back to the turntables after getting an extra pair of headphones. There was another question that was eating away at me: How did Zane even make sounds in the amount of time he had? I wanted to listen to my ruined track.

I listened to Zane's track for only twenty seconds before I shut it off. I knew there wouldn't be anything changing in it; it was repetitive. Wait. Repetitive?

I started it all over and listened to it. Yes, the sounds were repetitive. I could hear something in particular in it, too, as if the other sounds were crowding it. I carefully got rid of the sounds that weren't needed. After thirty minutes of clearing out the sounds, I found a beat. It sounded like objects were clinking against each other.

I reviewed the clinking sounds a few times. My mind exploded with ideas. I added a stomping bass to the clinking sounds.

"Sweet!" I said, slightly bouncing with the bass. As the minutes ticked by, the song sucked me in. I didn't care that my stomach was growling from hunger, I couldn't stop working on this song. Little by little, the song was coming to life. It took me a long time to finally look up at the clock on the wall to see I should be preparing the stage for the night.

I shut everything off after saving all I did for the song. When I left to head to the stage, I couldn't help myself but wonder how I was going to approach Zane next we came into contact. But more importantly, will I ever know why he came to see me today?

* * *

><p>==Hey guys! Like I said in the last author's note, I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long time. I was writing fast when Macca had her rampage, but I also felt bad when she screamed at Zane. So, Macca's original song was supposed to be inspired by Cazzette - "Beam Me Up". And Zane's song will be based on Ibranovski - "Vicious"<p>

watch?v=mp-IZEFqrG0

watch?v=loeBMB47ueQ

There I gave links.

I don't really know what else to say besides that I don't really enjoy writing about the breakdance battles. Now, I'm not changing anything about Macca being a breakdancer, but it's just hard and bores me to death. I'm going to use it for a special reason in the future, though. And I don't have to write about it too often. I just got to stay focused and keep moving forward for you guys. I know you like this story so far :)

Alright, I think this is where I leave you until the next chapter. I'll try to get it out on Saturday, but I doubt that'll happen. Just keep checking on the weekends because that's when I'm trying to post new chapters. See ya, homies!==


	11. Author's Note

Hey guys, this is just an author's note. This will be replaced with a chapter in the future.

So if you all are wondering where I've been, I'll tell you WHAT I've NOT been DOING, which is write fan fiction. It's not because I'm bored and don't want to, it's because my life is so chaotic at the moment. I'm in my school's musical and select soccer has started for spring. So I've been going from musical practice to soccer practice and then going home to only take a shower and go to bed. I've also had a stupid math project that was taking me forever to finish. I've had an English paper to write. And...let's see...homework. Like I've told my math teacher, my life sucks right now, but I'm enjoying it. As you can see, I've just had no time to write. But I've been reading a lot to try to expand my vocabulary. I finished The Hunger Games trilogy, which was awesome, but made me cry at the end. Now I'm reading the Twilight saga because I'm tired of survival stories. I need a different genre for once. Then my friend might force me to read The Host next. Then if the school semester isn't over, I'll read the Divergent series.

We perform the musical this week and next week, and I pray it doesn't snow. But once the musical is over and my schedule relaxes a bit, I'll definitely be writing more fan fiction. I'm aiming for posting a lot more chapters during spring break. And maybe I'll talk about my plan for this Ninjago fan fiction trilogy and another series I'm super excited about writing. I'm planning so much. I got to go. I promise more will be coming in March. I PROMISE! See ya, homies!


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